For awhile this contest looked like a repeat of the opening loss at American. A furious second half, in which they outscored the Hawks 44-26, gave Drexel a 76-61 victory in their first home contest. The game started off slowly, much like the first time around. The Dragons found themselves trailing 10-0 before they knew what hit them. After an ice cold start, Gabriela Marginean got things heated up. Her scoring ability along with more strong play from freshmen Marisa Crane and Kamile Nacickaite really helped turn the tide. The Dragons found themselves down just three at halftime.
The second half started out in similar fashion to the first half, with the Dragons giving up easy baskets and struggling themselves on the offensive end. Marginean continued to look unstoppable as she scored time and time again off the dribble. She's so tough to guard because she has the ability to get all the way to the rim, change directions or pull up and shoot in the lane when a defender steps in. She finishes so well and often draws contact with her playmaking ability. Thanks also to an 8-9 night from the charity stripe, Gabi posted her second straight game over thirty points (35). She was also a key to a Drexel defense that stifled the St. Joe's attack. Gabi drew several offensive fouls on the Hawks throughout the contest.
Sophomore guard Jasmina Rosseel was on fire again from the perimeter as she buried 4 three poitners en route to 16 points. Jasmina nailed a huge bucket down the stretch to extend the Dragon's lead. She also had a very impressive 5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. Jasmina could look to attack more, but she was very solid during this contest.
As mentioned earlier, the play of the freshmen was outstanding once again. Point guard Marisa Crane brings a speed element to the table that adds another dimension in the Dragons backcourt. She ran the offense effectively, dishing out 4 assists and turning the ball over just once. No one hit bigger shots in the game than the pair of three pointers that Marisa buried. The second one was really a dagger to St. Joe's comeback attempt.
Kamile Nacickaite struggled some from the field, but the freshman lead the way on the glass with 8 rebounds. She also displayed her fine all around game with solid 3 assists and 2 blocked shots to go with her aggressive defense. Both of the freshmen played well on the opponent's half of the court.
Drexel played much more aggressive on the defensive end in this one and forced more turnovers than in their opener. The defense continued to be a problem early on and the team clearly needs to start faster. The full court pressure defense plagued the Dragon's offense down the stretch. They were at least effective enough against it to hold onto a double digit victory.
Gabriela Marginean had a strong season last year, but is just playing out of her mind through the first two games of the season. She is averaging nearly half of Drexel's point thus far. She should see constant double and triple teams throughout the remainder of the season and others will need to step up. When everything comes together, it looks like this team can be a real force in the CAA.
Record Watch
Gabriela Marginean
Season Points to Date: 66 (33 ave.)
Career Points: 1,151 (11th all time)
Michelle Maslowski
Single Season Points Record: 625
Career Points Record: 1,900
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