On the surface it looked like a red hot Drexel team that has won 6 straight games against a young Delaware team that is struggling to find itself at 2-12. Look deeper though and you'll find more than that. The Dragons hadn't knocked off their arch rivals in the last 18 tries. There have been a number of close losses and that has to weigh on your mind anytime things start going wrong. Also, Drexel had been cruising alone against some weaker competition and mostly in the confines of their own gym.
On a night where not everything was going their way, this team responded and pulled up a tough victory. Early on, it looked like a blowout was in the works as Drexel built a commanding lead behind 4 three pointers. The offense then slowed down and the defense was hurt by a closely officaited game. Two of their key players Gabriela Marginean and Nicole Hester had to sit with foul trouble. The Dragons didn't allow Delaware to get on a huge run during that stretch though. Instead they forced the Blue Hens to crawl back into the contest. Delaware eventually took a one point lead into the locker room. With two of her teammates in foul trouble, Narissa Suber really stepped up in the first half and helped keep the game within reach.
Once Gabi and Nicole were able to get back on the floor in the second half, it was a completely different game. Gabi was nearly unguardable as she sliced through the lane. Nicole was efficient shooting and grabbed some rebounds. Perhaps most impressive were several beautiful passes for her 5 assists. As her play and minutes have improved, so have the Dragons. Narissa continued her strong play in the second half and was perfect on the day from the charity stripe (11-11). She hit a couple jumpers, but also cut well into the lane to get herself free. Jasmina Rosseel played well again. Her quickness and deft shooting touch gave the Blue Hens defense problems. She also chipped in defensively when some of her other teammates had trouble with Kyle DeHaven's quickness.
The Drexel defense adjusted in the second half and also helped key the victory. Instead of playing pressure defense and allowing the Blue Hens to get by with the dribble, Drexel backed off and forced them to execute from the perimeter. Delaware failed to do so as they hit no three pointers in the game. While the defense was solid, the rebounding really struggled. The Blue Hens were much bigger and pulled down an astounding 22 offensive rebounds. This is an area that will continue to hurt the Dragons as the season moves along. They just don't have the physical player inside to compete with bigger teams.
It wasn't the toughest team Drexel will face, but tonight's win got them off to a good start in the CAA. They also were able to get a huge monkey off their back as they snapped the Blue Hens streak. It has been like night and day watching this team now compared with the beginning of the year. Early on, they struggled so much that they couldn't even get into offensive plays. They were turning the ball over so much. Now they are taking care of the ball much better and their offensive sets are so much crisper. As Nicole Hester's production has been huge as of late. Now Drexel has to keep it going as more difficult opposition is just around the corner. They certainly looked poised to give the rest of the CAA fits.
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