The Drexel University women’s basketball team played stifling defense to defeat the rival University of Delaware Blue Hens 58-41, Feb. 10 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons have now won their last nine matchups with Delaware, and currently on an eight-game winning streak.
Forcing turnovers was an early key for the Dragons. The Blue Hens turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, with Drexel scoring nine points off the Delaware mistakes. On the day, Drexel forced a total of 19 Delaware turnovers.
Sophomore guard Hannah Nihill was instrumental in the first quarter, posting two steals and five points. The reigning Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year pried the ball away from freshman Paris McBride, and dished it to freshman Keishana Washington for a layup. Later, Nihill drained a three and a jumper to give the Dragons a 18-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Junior Bailey Greenberg continued her hot play of late in the second quarter. Her nine points in the quarter, along with threes from freshman Maura Hendrixson and junior Aubree Brown, pushed the Drexel advantage to 13.
Greenberg continued to dominate in the third, scoring the first six Drexel points of the quarter. All of her points in the quarter came in the paint, a common theme for the Dragons in the game. The team scored 34 of their 58 points in the paint.
With 4:43 left in the third, a steal from sophomore Mariah Leonard led to a fastbreak layup from sophomore Kayla Bacon. The Blue Hens responded with buckets in the paint by sophomore Lizzie O’Leary and junior Abby Gonzales. But Nihill closed the quarter strong for the Dragons, making another three and jumper, to make it 49-34 heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Drexel locked all windows and doors, coasting to the win. The Blue Hens were unable to score over the first five minutes of the quarter, while the Dragons pushed their lead to 21. Delaware would score only seven points in the quarter, while shooting 3-10 from the field.
Drexel did not allow a Delaware three-pointer all day, forcing them to go 0-8 from beyond the arc. The Dragons are currently second in the nation in three point defense as of Feb. 11, trailing only the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams, with opponents shooting 22.3 percent from deep.
Greenberg led all scorers with 23 points, going over 20 points for fourth-straight games. Her average of 18.4 is currently the second most in the conference, trailing only sophomore Kionna Jeter from the Towson University Tigers. For the Blue Hens, graduate student Makeda Nicholas led by posting 13 points along with seven rebounds.
The Dragons will continue their homestand in the next few days with a pair of games at the DAC. They will take on the Hofstra University Pride Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., then face off with the Northeastern University Huskies Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.