Drexel Begins Run at WNIT Championship
By Frank Otto
Just two years removed from the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship, Drexel’s women’s basketball team is poised to make another run.
The team faces off against the regular-season Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion, the Hampton University Lady Pirates, Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in their opening game.
Although Drexel suffered a disappointing loss in the quarterfinal of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) post-season tournament, the Dragons ended the season 20-10, finishing just behind James Madison University in the conference standings.
Overall the Dragons shot better from the field than the Lady Pirates this season, with Drexel’s shooting percentage sitting at .395 with their percentage from beyond the arc coming in at .344. That compares favorably with Hampton’s .360 field goal percentage and .290 from three, though the Lady Pirates’ top scorer, Malia Tate-DeFreitas, averaged an impressive 21.6 points per game, ranking 12th in the country.
Drexel’s top scorers were Sarah Curran (12.2 points per game) and Rachel Pearson (11.2), who combined for more than 100 three-pointers over the season.
In anticipation of Thursday’s matchup and a possible deep run into the WNIT, here is a list of highlights for the Dragons’ season thus far.
- This was the fifth 20-win Division I season in the history of the women’s basketball team.
- During this 20-win season, the team went 14-4 in CAA play. That’s the second-highest CAA win total for Drexel in the team’s history.
- Drexel won both games against Philadelphia opponents, St. Joseph’s University and the University of Pennsylvania, and also won both of its regular-season matchups with the University of Delaware.
- A decisive 71-54 victory over the University of Miami (Ohio) Dec. 28 during the Cavalier Classic netted coach Denise Dillon her 200th career win.
- Curran was named First Team All-CAA, the first time a Drexel sophomore achieved that since the 2007–08 season, when Gabriela Marginean earned the honor.
- The junior Pearson was named Second Team All-CAA, the second time she’s been named to an All-CAA team.
- Senior Jamila Thompson recorded the nation’s only “Five-by-Five” this year at the College of William & Mary Jan. 15, when the Dragons won 49-46. Thompson recorded at least a five in the five major statistical categories, picking up six points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, five blocks and seven steals.
Get tickets to see the Dragons begin their run at 7 p.m. Thursday by calling 1.866.4.DREXEL or emailing DrexelTickets@drexel.edu.