2008 Preview

Losing four seniors is normally desvating to any basketball team. Make no mistake about it, 2008 Drexel Women's team will have some holes to fill. Things are made much easier though when you have the Preseason Player of the Year who after just two seasons has already reached the 1,000 point plateu. That's exactly what the Dragons return with forward Gabriela Marginean (1,085 career points) leading the squad after a surprising 18-12 season and fourth place finish in the CAA.

As a freshman, Gabi broke the single game scoring record and was CAA Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore, she reached 1,000 career points and was runner up in the CAA Player of the Year voting. Gabi is a fantastic scorer because she's nearly impossible to stop off the dribble. She possesses good size and is an outstanding finisher around the rim. Gabi also has a good face up jumper and last year improved by extending her range beyond the three point line. She improved some as a passer too. If she can become more effective at setting up her teammates, the Dragons will be even better offensively. Gabi is a strong rebounder as well on both ends of the floor and often gets points via the offensive glass.

Narissa Suber made her mark over the last 4 years as a sniper in the Drexel backcourt. She shattered virtually all the three point shooting records and her 41% from beyond the arc last year will be tough to replace. Making up that kind of production will likely have to come from multiple players. The good news is the rest of the Dragons combined to shoot 35% from deep. Sophomore Jasmina Rosseel figures to do the most to fill the void left by Suber. As a first year player, she shot nearly 37% from three point land.

As a All CAA Rookie Team Member, Jasmina found herself in the thick of things at key moments down the stretch. She can score off the dribble as well as from deep. She hit some very difficult shot in several of the Dragons' key victories last year. During a few of their toughest losses, she often missed jumpers and/or had key turnovers. More consistency in her second year should be expected a could go a long way to making for another successful Drexel season.

During the 2006-2007, Nicole Hester went through something no player should have to experience. The Dragons forward was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and missed the entire season. She came back last season and was sluggish early on as Drexel got off to a slow start. Once Nicole got back into the shape and started playing well, the Dragons took off. The do everything forward is a glue player for this squad. She can score, rebound, pass, shoot and defend. With her out of the lineup in the CAA tournament, the Dragons once again sputtered and exited in the the quarterfinal round. Nicole's ability to stay healthy during her senior campaign will certainly be a big factor in determining Drexel success.

When steady senior point guard Andrea Peterson went down with an injury early last season things looked bleak for the Dragons. Stacy McCollough (now on the coaching staff) filled in admirably. McCollough is now gone, but Peterson is back for another senior campaign after a medical redshirt. During her first season at Drexel (after transferring from St. John's), Andrea had a solid 1.6 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. She'll certainly give the Dragons a veteran presence at the lead guard spot. Whether she's fully healthy remains to be seen.

Delise Johnson might not have put up big numbers last year in her senior season, but she was a big key to the Dragons success. The energetic center was Drexel's most physical player and a good post defender. She was also a solid rebounder and an emotional leader. On a team that wasn't very physical, her toughness will be difficult to replace.

Brooke Cornish, the 6-4 back up center a year ago, likely won't develop into a physical player, but she did prove to be a very effective shot blocker off the bench a year ago. Improving even more on the defensive end could really help the Dragons out to against the much bigger front courts that they typically face in the CAA.

On the offensive side of things, Brooke started off the year by struggling convert on the most basic shots. A very encouraging sign though is that she improved in that area as the year when on and became a pretty efficient player by season's end. The Dragons don't need her to be a dominant scorer, but they do need her to be a scoring threat in the low post (particularly for her size). Brooke will need to be strong on the boards too as the Dragons were near the bottom of the CAA in that category last season.

The Dragons are losing several key players from a year ago and while they might be fine in the starting rotation, the bench play will certainly be a big question mark. The fourth senior that they lost was Anora Suber (Narissa's twin). A four year role player for Drexel will be something that they'll need to replace.

Alison Lupariello (2.1 points per game) will be the leading returner on the bench. Alison is another long ball threat and most of her shots come from beyond the arc. She has near unlimited range. The junior guard must improve on her 26 assists to 28 turnovers from a season ago.

Jen Stjarnstrom, 6-1 junior forward, should see more action than in her first two seasons due to the departure of Delise Johnson. Jen has shown to be a solid defender at times and she provides some size in the front court that really could help out against bigger CAA front court. Her ability to defend and rebound will go a long way in determining how much of a factor Jen can be off the bench.

While depth looks to be an area of concern, the Dragons will likely call on their newcomers to ease some of the burden. Reshirt freshman Silvia Jankova is an unknown commodity at guard after missing her first season due to injury. There will certainly be an opportunity to play in the back court with the losses of Narissa Suber and Stacy McCullough.

Speaking of the backcourt, while Andrea Peterson is a clear cut starting point guard, the back up spot is up for grabs. Jasmina Rosseel can play that position at times, but is most suited at the off guard spot. Alison Lupariello needs to cut down on turnovers to see more time at that spot. That leaves an opportunity open for freshmen Marisa Crane (5-5). Some more speed in the back court could certainly be helpful too. Ayana Lee should via for some playing time as well.

The Dragons brought in two forwards in the freshman class. Tyler Hale (6-0) was the Dragons highest rated player and should provide some athletic ability in the front court. Drexel has recently struck gold with foreign players. Will that happen again with 5-11 Kamile Nacickaite from Lithuania?

One of the other majors factors in Drexel's strong 2007-2008 campaign was their ability to hit free throws. Gabriela Marginean is one of the best free throw shooters in the nation and gets to the line at a high rate of frequency. In addition to strong free throw shooting and three point shooting, the Dragons also had the league's top scoring defense a year ago. They will need to sustain that play in all three areas for another successful season.

Anytime you have a player the caliber of Gabriela Marginean you should be competitive. How much the other players around her can step up and replace the four graduated seniors will determine how far this team goes. Some of the younger players will have to improve and production from the bench will be a key. Look for the Dragons to make more noise this upcoming season.