Philadelphia, PA (Jan. 15) ? Host Drexel hung on at the end to claim a 74-65 Colonial Athletic Association decision Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Georgia State (9-5, 2-2) battled back from a 12-point halftime deficit to close to within five points three times down the stretch, the last at 1:25, but could not make the baskets that would have cut the margin even more or taken the lead. The Panthers, playing their first game without leading scorer and leading rebounder Danyiell McKeller, claimed a 37-34 rebound advantage. State fought foul trouble the entire game as one player fouled out and three more ended up with four fouls.
Sophomore Chandra Harris got her first start of the year and responded with 17 points (6-of-9) and eight rebounds. Guard Brittany Graham came off the bench to score 16, with freshman guards Jylisa Williams and Crystal Johnson adding 12 and 11 points, respectively. Johnson, the CAA assist leader at 5.5 per game, added seven more tonight. Dana Olsen was working towards a double-double with eight rebounds and seven points. Senior guard Brittany Hollins played just 17 minutes and did not score a point with her foul problems. The CAA's steals-leader did not even have a steal tonight.
Drexel (8-7, 3-1) came into the game leading the CAA in three-point field goals and free throw shooting and that proved to be its difference tonight. The Dragons made nine treys, many nearing the shot-clock violation, and hit 23-of-26 free throws for 88.5 percent. Guard Jasmina Rosseel hit five treys and scored 20 points, while Gabriela Marginean added 18 points with 8-of-9 free throws, ending her 37-straight made streak.
Georgia State, who came into the contest No. 6 in the nation in steals, could muster just five against Drexel tonight.
When Drexel built its halftime lead of 30-18 to 39-23 with a highly-unusual six-point possession at 17:03, gritty and determined Georgia State found its high gear. The Panthers answered with a quick 8-0 run to close it back to 39-31 with 14:41.
Still down 56-47 with 7:07, State got the margin down to five at 56-51 with 5:49 and 58-53 with 4:49. A Chandra Harris basket and free throw made it 67-62 with 1:25 and it was still a two-possession game with 1:12 left at 69-63. But Drexel continued to make its free throw opportunities and claimed the win.
Drexel went nearly six minutes in the middle of the second half without a basket, making only free throws in that stretch (13:26 to 7:30). As a matter of fact, Drexel made 21-of-24 free throws in the second half. Drexel made nine field goals in the second half, five of them treys.
“We got frustrated during a stretch in the first half and got ourselves down, but we came back with some energy and got ourselves back into a position to try to win it late,” Coach Lea Henry noted. “Obviously, you miss your leading scorer and rebounder, but we hung tough and worked our way back with the 47-point second half. We had a lot of young and new players on the court tonight and we're still learning how to win on the road like we do at home. Good teams like Drexel make you have to play your best to win and we did not play our best tonight. But, give them credit for doing what they had to do to win.”
Georgia State will stay on the road and travel to Norfolk for a Sunday noon TV game with CAA rival Old Dominion.
NOTEBOOK: The 47-point second half was one point shy of the season-best 48 scored in the second half in the win over Clemson...Harris' 17-point game was a personal best and her fifth career double-figure scoring game...Johnson played all 40 minutes, despite having four fouls, for the fifth time this season. Her seven assists made is 13 of the 14 games this year with four or more assists...Graham's four three-point baskets were one shy of her season-best five at Clemson and tied her four last Thursday against Northeastern. She now has 25 treys on the season...Olsen's eight rebounds were a season-best for her, one better than her seven vs. Louisiana-Lafayette...Williams' double-figure game marked her 10th in double figures of the 14 games...
