It was a season of highs and lows for the Drexel University women’s lacrosse team.

Coming into the season, the Dragons were under the command of new Head Coach Jill Batcheller. Batcheller had been the head coach at Bryant University for six years and led the Bulldogs to the Northeast Conference title three times.

Batcheller’s first season in University City didn’t have that sweet of an ending though. The Dragons lost their season opener to John Hopkins University, 17-9, then rebounded to gain their first win of the season against Iona University. After a 16-5 loss to No. 20 Georgetown University, the team defeated Rutgers University, 18-12, to get back to .500.

However, close losses to the University Pennsylvania and Villanova University put the team back under .500. The Dragons responded by going on a three-game win streak, their longest of the season.

The Dragons defeated the Manhattan University Jaspers, 13-7, to start the streak. Their win stopped a six-game winning streak for the Jaspers. Sophomore Karson Harris was key for the Dragons on the day, scoring a career-high five goals in the matchup.

Drexel then took advantage of a slacking University of Maryland Baltimore County team, who had lost five straight, to earn a 10-6 victory. The run was capped off by a 22-4 rout of the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils. In the blowout, eight Dragons scored at least a pair of goals, with junior Jamie Schneidereith scoring four on her own.

But after this run, Drexel had some of their worst struggles of the season, right as they were entering Colonial Athletic Association play. The team lost five of their next six games, with their only win coming from a 15-13 victory against the College of William and Mary Tribe.

Drexel still had a slim chance of making the playoffs going into the final weekend of play, but a 19-11 loss to the Hofstra University Pride sealed their fate. In that game, CAA Player of the Year, junior Alyssa Parrella, scored her 82nd goal of the season, breaking the record for most goals in a season.

But despite missing out on the playoffs, the team had some strong individual performances that deserve to be recognized and even some that broke into the record books.

The most notable of these performances was by Harris. Harris, who was First-Team All-CAA, had a record-breaking year for the Dragons in a season where she scored 35 goals and totaled 52 points. Harris broke records for the Dragons for her proficiency at winning draws.

Harris set a single-game record in the win against William and Mary, securing 12 draws in the game. Then later on in a match against Delaware, Harris set the single-season record with her 74th of the season. She ended the season with 90 total draw controls.

Another key contributor for the Dragons was sophomore Colleen Grady. Grady, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year, led the Dragons in points with 54 while scoring 35 goals. For her efforts, she was also named First Team All-CAA.

Two other Dragons recognized by the CAA were Jamie Schneidereith and Claire Jarema. Schneidereith was named second-team All-CAA and Jarema was named the all-rookie team for her redshirt freshman season where she posted 12 goals.

Jarema, Schneidereith, Harris and Grady will return to the Dragons next year, looking to lead the team to its first conference playoff berth since 2016.

The Auburn University Tigers men’s basketball team is coming off their most successful season ever, reaching the Final Four  for the first time in school history.

When you think of Auburn, you rarely  think of their basketball program, but rather the football powerhouse that has produced talents such as NFL MVP Cam Newton and legendary running back Bo Jackson.

The men’s basketball program has produced talent in the past, including Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley but has struggled since the turn of the century. Following a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2003, the Tigers would not find themselves back in the tournament at all for another 15 years.

Auburn returned to the NCAA tournament in 2018 as a four seed, this time led by head coach Bruce Pearl. The team defeated 13th seed College of Charleston Cougars in the first round but fell to the Clemson University Tigers in the second round.

But things looked bright for the Tigers heading into the 2019 season, with much of the team’s key contributors returning including sophomore Chuma Okeke, senior Bryce Brown and junior Jared Harper. The team started out strong going 10-1 to kick off the season, with their only loss being to the Duke University Blue Devils. The team would finish the regular season at 22-9 and entered the SEC tournament as the fifth seed. Auburn defeated University of Missouri, University of South Carolina and University of Florida to reach the championship.

Once they claimed their spot, the Tigers defeated the University of Tennessee Volunteers 84-64 to earn their first SEC championship since 1985. Brown scored 19 points in the championship and was named tournament MVP.

Auburn was awarded the fifth seed in the Midwest region in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. The team almost went home in the opening round following a scare against the 12th seed New Mexico State Aggies, but moved onto the next round following a 78-77 win.

In the next round, Auburn faced the 4th seed University of Kansas Jayhawks. Duke University redshirt junior Dedric Lawson scored 25 points in the matchup but was outmatched by Brown. Brown scored 25 points while shooting 7-11 from deep to lead the Tigers to an 89-75 win.

In the Sweet Sixteen, the Tigers faced a mighty foe in the number one seed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tarheels. Auburn went on an offensive outburst to defeat the Tar Heels, dropping 97 points, the most points by any team in the tournament. The team sunk 17 3-pointers and Okeke posted 20 points to put Auburn in their first Elite Eight since 1986.

Up next was a rematch against the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Auburn had lost previous matchups against Kentucky earlier in the season, including getting blown out 80-53 Feb. 23.

This time the Tigers wouldn’t go down so easily, matching Kentucky bucket for bucket all game. With under a minute remaining, a clutch driving layup from Harper tied the game at 60, and key defense from Auburn forced the game into overtime. Harper had 12 points in a high scoring overtime period, while Auburn dominated in the paint to seal the 77-71 victory, sending the Tigers to their first Final Four in history.

It was another battle for the Tigers in the Final Four, facing off with the No. 1 University of Virginia Cavaliers. Towards the end of the second half, the Cavaliers were up 57-47 following a 3-pointer from junior Ty Jerome. Later,  Auburn would rattle off 14 straight unanswered points, including three 3-pointers from Brown to take back the 61-57 lead.

A 3-pointer from Virginia junior Kyle Guy cut the lead to one. Harper sank one of two at the line, but Virginia still had a chance to win it with 1.5 seconds. The ball was inbounded to Guy on the corner, who shot a deep three that rimmed out on the whistle. The controversial call gave Guy three free-throws, which he nailed to give the Cavaliers the 73-72 win.

It was a tough end of the season for the Tigers with this heartbreaking loss to UVA. Despite a  bitter end to the season, it was one for the books for Auburn.

Next season brings big changes to Auburn, with multiple key players from this tournament not returning. Jared Harper will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA Draft with his teammate Bryce Brown. Next season, Auburn will look to defend their SEC Championship and continue to  pursue their first national title.

The Drexel University women’s lacrosse team dropped a match last weekend, falling to the Robert Morris University Colonials 13-10 March 30 at Vidas Field in Philadelphia. The loss breaks a three-game win streak for the Dragons and brings their record to an even 5-5 on the season.

Drexel got off to a great start in the matchup. Sophomore Karson Harris won the opening draw, and the ball found sophomore Colleen Grady, who netted a goal just 13 seconds into the matchup. However, just 17 seconds later, sophomore Rachel Ward scored an equalizer goal for the Colonials.

Robert Morris then netted three more goals to take a strong early lead. Junior Clio Kerr scored her ninth goal of the season, followed by one from junior Mackenzie Gandy and wrapped up with a goal from junior Meghan Crouse.

Junior Courtney Dietzel broke the run by Robert Morris, scoring her 14th goal of the season to get the Dragons back on the board, but another goal from Kerr made it 5-2 for the Colonials. Drexel rallied to close out the half strong. Senior Grace Osterdale’s first goal of the season kicked off the run. Harris then drilled a free position shot, and Grady scored her second goal of the day to knot things up at five going into the break.

In the second half, Robert Morris would go on another run to take a commanding lead. This time, the Colonials rattled off five unanswered goals. Goals from seniors Kerri Sayrafe, Sophia Eureka and Shannon Lynch put Robert Morris ahead. Crouse also had another goal, this time on a man disadvantage assisted by junior Melanie Gandy.

The Dragons responded to this run with three goals in under two minutes to get back within striking distance. Grady scored another, followed by senior Marah Hayes’ fourth goal of the season and Dietzel’s second goal of the game.

However, a Robert Morris goal by Mackenzie Gandy, assisted by her sister Melanie Gandy, and a power-play goal from junior Thalia Zolis gave the Colonials a 12-8 advantage.

For the Dragons, Harris would earn the hat trick on a free position shot, making it 12-9 with 3:58 to play. A Robert Morris goal by Lynch put the game out of reach, but Grady was still able to score another goal to complete the hat trick. Grady leads the Dragons in goals with 21.

Shots were pretty even on the day, with Robert Morris leading in overall shots 34-26 and in shots on goal 27-21. Sophomore Zoe Bennett led the game with 13 saves for the Dragons, while junior Katelyn Miller had 11 saves for the Colonials.

The Dragons will go back on the road this weekend to begin Colonial Athletic Association play. The team will travel to North Carolina to take on the Elon University Phoenix Apr. 5 at 6 p.m. Drexel will then head down to Virginia to face off against the College of William & Mary Tribe Apr. 7 at 1 p.m.

Elon has battled mightily thus far this season. After starting 2-1 to open the season, the Phoenix have dropped seven straight matches. Elon’s schedule has been brutal, however, facing six nationally ranked programs including powerhouses like the No. 15 Duke University Blue Devils and No. 3 North Carolina University Tar Heels.

William & Mary is currently 5-4 on the season. The team was riding a three-game win streak, but dropped a 12-11 overtime heartbreaker to the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers March 24. The team is led by freshman Belle Martire, who has netted 25 goals this season.

The Drexel University women’s basketball team fell in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game, losing to the Towson University Tigers 53-49 March 16 in a close game. This is the Dragons’ second straight loss in the conference championship final and their third in the last four seasons.

Drexel sprinted out to an early 4-0 lead after a midrange jumper from freshman Keishana Washington. Freshman Maura Hendrixson then hit a three, as she went 3-3 from deep in the first half. Junior Niki Metzel sunk two free throws to give Drexel the 16-12 advantage.

In the second quarter, the duo of redshirt sophomore Kionna Jeter and junior Nukiya Mayo lit a fire for Towson. After starting 0-5 on the day, Jeter hit two big threes. A driving layup from Mayo knotted the game up at 26. Mayo had 12 points in the first half. Another bucket gave the Tigers their first lead of the day, a 28-27 advantage they took into the break.

CAA Player of the Year junior Bailey Greenberg scored Drexel’s first five points of the third quarter to give the Dragons back the lead. A layup from Mayo and free throws from Jeter tied things up at 32. A smooth jumper from Washington gave the Dragons back the 36-34 lead, but Towson took the lead back on an open three from senior Danielle Durjan. Metzel then fought through contact and nailed a layup to make it 39-38.

Both offenses struggled to start the fourth, but sloppy play from Towson got the Dragons going. Towson turned the ball over five times on five straight possessions. Junior Aubree Brown fed to Greenberg on a behind-the-back pass to put Drexel back on top. Greenberg then drove again and hit another layup to make it 42-39.

A contested jumper from redshirt junior Q. Murray got Towson their first bucket of the quarter, but Metzel answered with a layup down low. Redshirt senior Maia Lee barreled down senior Tereza Kracikova down low, but the whistles stayed silent as Lee got the layup for Towson. Brown answered with a layup of her own, making it 46-43.

Drexel stayed patient, milking as much clock as possible on each possession. But Murray came up with a crucial interception and went coast-to-coast to cut the Drexel lead to one. After a missed three from Greenberg, Mayo hit a contested jumper to give Towson a 47-46 lead with a little under a minute to play.

A Drexel turnover gave the Tigers the ball back. Jeter held on to the ball, stepped back and swished the jumper over the outstretched hand of Metzel to give the Tigers a three-point lead with 24.7 seconds to go. Greenberg fell and lost the ball, then Mayo nailed two clutch insurance free throws. Brown hit a three with 1.6 seconds to go, but there wasn’t enough time for the Dragons to mount a comeback.

For Towson, this is their first CAA championship, and the program will go on to the NCAA tournament for the first time in their history. The Dragons’ season will continue as the team is qualified for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The first round of the WNIT is March 20-22. The Dragons captured the WNIT crown back in 2013 on home court at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

The Drexel University women’s basketball team is moving on to their second straight Colonial Athletic Association championship final after overcoming the Northeastern University Huskies 73-69, March 15 in a heart-racing overtime affair. The Dragons will play for a bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament and their first CAA championship since 2009.

Neither team got off to a good start on offense. After a layup from junior Niki Metzel opened the game, the Dragons were scoreless for over five minutes, missing 10 straight shots. But the Huskies didn’t fare much better, missing multiple wide open looks while jogging out to a 5-2 lead.

A driving layup from freshman Keishana Washington broke the cold streak for Drexel, but a Northeastern steal from senior Jess Genco lead to a deep two from junior Ayanna Dublin. Sophomore Kayla Bacon completed an and-one for Drexel, but Northeastern senior Gabby Giacone banked three-straight layups for the Huskies, pushing their lead to six. Part of Giacone’s success came from the fact that Metzel was out of the game due to foul trouble.

Junior Aubree Brown went coast-to-coast for a layup, but it was answered by another Giacone layup. An off-balance jumper from Washington cut the Huskies advantage to four. Senior Tereza Kracikova drove and kicked out to junior Ana Ferariu on the baseline who nailed the jumper for Drexel that made it 19-18.

On the next Drexel possession, Ferariu completed a putback to give Drexel their first lead since the beginning of the game. Northeastern answered with a deep jumper from Dublin and a three from Genco — the first three of the game.

Neither team shot well from three in the half, with the teams going a combined 1-15 (6.6 percent) from deep. Another bucket from Ferariu and a jumper from Washington knotted the game up at 23 heading into halftime. Ferariu and Washington combined for 12 of Drexel’s 23 points in the half.

Both offenses came alive in the third quarter. A Metzel layup put the Dragons back on top, followed by a jumper from Washington.

The Huskies went on a run to take the lead, scoring seven unanswered points. Freshman Alexis Hill made a layup, followed by another bucket from Dublin and then capped off by an open elbow three from junior Shannon Todd.

Metzel fought through contact for another tough jumper but Todd sunk her second straight three to give Northeastern a six-point lead. Metzel added another bucket, but the Dragons found themselves down 45-41 going into the final period.

Metzel stayed hot in the fourth, opening the period with a layup and a baseline jumper to make it 46-45. Metzel had 15 points in the second half on 7-9 shooting. The Dragons took the lead as the Northeastern offense went cold, missing their first seven shots of the quarter. Brown was able to draw a foul on a three-pointer, and hit the free throws to give Drexel the two-point lead.

A pair of free throws by Todd tied the game at 48 with five minutes to go, but CAA Player of the Year junior Bailey Greenberg completed an and-one to put Drexel back up by three. However, Giacone scored two straight layups to put the Huskies up by one.

A free throw from Metzel tied things up but Genco found May underneath on a backdoor cut for an easy layup. Greenberg drew a foul and hit two clutch free throws to tie it up at 54 with 1:27 to go. After Brown couldn’t finish on a layup, Northeastern got a chance to win the game with the shot clock unplugged. Todd got the ball and chucked an elbow three that bricked off the backboard, sending the game into overtime.

Drexel won the tip and Greenberg drove for a layup to give the Dragons the early lead in overtime. Nihill came up with a steal off Dublin and passed to Ferariu for a fast-break score. Dublin answered with a layup, but Washington came back with a big bucket. Washington drove again and was fouled, and the rookie made both free throws to make it 62-56, Drexel’s largest lead of the day. Washington had six points in the overtime.

With time running out for the Huskies, Hill completed a three-point play, but Metzel answered with two free throws to push Drexel’s lead to five. After a jump ball, Northeastern head coach Kelly Cole was assessed a crucial technical foul for complaining to the referee, which resulted in two more Metzel free throws.

Two more freebies by Washington made it 70-63, but Genco nailed a three to cut the lead to four. Metzel hit two more free throws, but a three-point play from Dublin made it a one-possession game with 9.5 seconds to go. However, Metzel was fouled again and made one of two to ice the game for the Dragons.

For the second game in a row, Metzel led the game in points with 24. Greenberg had a season-high 15 rebounds, while also posting 15 points. For Northeastern, Dublin led with 16 points. Drexel shot 25-60 (41.7 percent) overall, while not hitting a three all day, going 0-12 from deep. The Huskies went 23-66 (34.8 percent) from the field with 5-20 (20 percent) shooting from beyond the arc.

The Dragons will play in the conference championship March 16 at 1 p.m, with the game being televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Drexel will take on the No. 4 Towson University Tigers for the CAA crown. The 19-12 Tigers are coming off a 68-48 victory over the No. 3 University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks in the prior round.

Drexel and Towson split their two matches this year, with the Tigers taking the first match 55-54, Jan. 4 and the Dragons winning the rematch handily 77-44, March 9. They are led by the top scorer in the CAA, redshirt sophomore Kionna Jeter, who is averaging 17.8 points per game.

A heartbreaking triple-overtime loss snapped the Drexel University women’s basketball team’s 12-game winning streak, as the Dragons fell to the College of William & Mary Tribe 77-72, March 1. The team rebounded with a win on senior night, dispatching the Elon University Phoenix 68-45, March 3.

The game against William & Mary was tight throughout. In the first, the Dragons jumped ahead due to and-ones from freshman Keishanna Washington and junior Aubree Brown. Junior Hannah Nihill added a three put the Dragons up 19-13. In the second, the Drexel offense sputtered, and freshman Eva Hodgson posted seven points to put the Tribe up 29-26.

Brown got the lead back for the Dragons in the third, scoring eight points in the quarter. But threes by William & Mary’s Hodgson and senior Misha Jones kept the Tribe in striking distance. In the fourth, the Dragons found themselves down six after a 12-2 run by the Tribe. Senior Bianca Boggs had seven points on the run, including a three.

The comeback attempt was led by junior Niki Metzel, who hit a jumper to make it 55-51. Metzel was huge for the Dragons in crunch time. Metzel posted a career-high 21 in the game, with 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, while also racking up eight boards.

The Dragons then began a full-court press to try and get the ball back. After a Drexel turnover, Brown and William & Mary junior Victoria Reynolds pushed each other a bit. The referee issued a warning and at this point, a fan sitting on the sideline wearing dark-rimmed glasses yelled to Reynolds, the inbounder, “you are going to turn it over, everybody knows you are going to turn it over.”

Reynolds got the ball back off the inbound and tried to pass up court but was intercepted by Metzel, fulfilling the prophecy. Metzel took the swipe the distance to make it 55-53. The team then traded layups, and Metzel hit a clutch pair at the line to knot it up at 57. William & Mary had a chance to take the lead on their final possession, but Drexel drew a charge with 9.1 seconds to go, giving the Dragons a chance to walk it off. Brown got the ball and drove, but couldn’t finish through the contact, sending the game to overtime.

Drexel fell behind quick in the first overtime. Boggs scored a layup and a jumper to give the Tribe a four-point lead. Boggs scored 14 of the Tribe’s 20 total overtime points. Metzel got a much-needed bucket for the Dragons, hitting a baseline jay, but Boggs would add another two free throws to make it 63-59. Washington drilled a crucial bucket, and the press forced a Tribe turnover again, giving the Dragons a chance to tie with 13 seconds to go. Metzel grabbed an offensive board and was fouled. Metzel nailed both the critical freebies again, but the Tribe still had a chance to go ahead. Boggs drove, traveled — which was ignored by the referees — and kicked out to Jones who missed the three. The score stood at 63-63.

In the second overtime, junior Bailey Greenberg hit a jumper and sank a free throw to give Drexel the 66-63 lead. The Tribe didn’t make a single basket in the period, but Boggs drew three fouls and went 5-6 from the stripe to knot the game up at 68. The Tribe had another chance to win it, with six seconds left after a steal by Boggs, but a corner three from Jones rimmed out.

Drexel’s offensive woes continued in the third extra period. The Dragons got off to a good start with a bucket from Ana Ferariu, but it would be their only field goal in the quarter. The team shot a poor 1-9 (11.1 percent) from the field, including 0-6 from three. The team hadn’t sunk a three since the second quarter at this point, and in overtime went a combined 0-10 from beyond the arc.

The Tribe would go on a 9-2 run to close out the game. A layup by Boggs gave the Tribe the lead and another by Harper Birdsong increased it. From there William & Mary sank free throws to ice the game.

Boggs led the game with her season-high 32 points on 11-14 shooting. Greenberg scored 24 points for the Dragons, while grabbing eight rebounds and eight steals. Drexel had one of their worst shooting performances of the season, shooting 28-83 (33.7 percent), with a dreadful 2-28 (7.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Tribe faired better, going 28-52 (53.8 percent) overall and 6-19 (31.6 percent) from deep.

On senior day, Drexel got back in the win column against the reigning CAA champions, the Elon University Phoenix. A 7-0 run kicked off the game for Drexel, highlighted by a three from senior Eline Maesschalck. Drexel kept up the pressure and sophomore Kayla Bacon hit a jumper at the buzzer to make it 16-8.

In the second quarter, Drexel would widen their lead with another large run. The 14-2 outburst was started by a Bacon layup, followed by a three from Nihill and four points from Greenberg. The Drexel defense held strong also, allowing only seven Elon points in the quarter.

The strong defense carried into the second half. A turnover by Elon’s Lexi Mercer led to another three from Maesschalck. Brown dished to Greenberg for another basket in the paint. Nihil added another three, then swiped the ball from Brie Perpignan and went the distance for the layup. Later in the quarter, freshman Maura Hendrixson would add a pair of threes and push the Drexel lead to 29.

The stagnant Elon offense came alive in the fourth, but the damage was already done. Despite putting up 20 points in the fourth quarter (more than the team scored in the entire first half), the Phoenix would never get within 20 points of the Drexel lead.

Greenberg led all scorers with 18 points on 7-10 shooting. For Elon, Perpignan was the only player to reach double digits, posting 10 points. Drexel shot much better than they did against the Tribe, especially from three. The Dragons went 25-55 (45.5 percent) on the day, with 8-19 (42.1 percent) from deep. Elon struggled from the floor, shooting 17-46 (37 percent), while failing to make a three all day, going 0-5.

The Dragons will go back up on the road this weekend to wrap up the regular season. Drexel has been fantastic on the road and is currently on a 14-road-game winning streak, the longest in the nation.

The team traveled to Virginia to take on the James Madison University Dukes March 7. JMU is ranked first in the CAA and held their standing, beating the Dragons 58-47.

The Dragons will now go to Maryland to faceoff with the Towson University Tigers March 9 at 2 p.m. The Dukes are the top team in the CAA this season, sporting a 15-1 record in conference play. James Madison defeated the Dragons 51-35 back Jan. 6. Towson is currently third in the conference, right behind the Dragons. Drexel will look to avenge a 55-54 loss at the hands of the Tigers from Jan. 4.

The Drexel University women’s basketball team continues to dominate, extending their season-long winning streak to 12 games after defeating the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks 65-53, Feb. 22 and the College of Charleston Cougars 65-42, Feb. 24.

The pair of wins brings the Dragons current road win streak to 14 games, the longest active streak in the nation. Drexel currently sits second in the Colonial Athletic Association with a record of 12-2 in conference play, behind the James Madison University Dukes.

Against the Seahawks, Drexel was able to take the lead thanks to a high scoring first quarter. Junior Bailey Greenberg kicked the game off with an elbow three. Junior Aubree Brown added another three, then picked a steal and fed it to freshman Keishana Washington for a layup. Greenberg then drilled another triple to give the Dragons an early 12-4 lead. UNCW fought back, most prominently due to five points from junior Ahyiona Vason, but could only cut the Drexel lead to seven heading into the second quarter.

The next two quarters were tight, with each team matching each other. Drexel largely stayed in the game thanks to stout defense and a strong performance from Washington. The Drexel defense forced the Seahawks to shoot poorly. UNCW went 9-31 (29 percent) in the second and third quarters combined, but largely stuck around due to strong post play and free throw shooting.

Washington posted six points in the second quarter, then another five in the third quarter. This along with timely threes from Greenberg and Brown preserved the Drexel lead. The Dragons took a 46-39 lead into the final period.

In the fourth, Washington made another three to put the Dragons up 10. Later in the quarter, a 7-0 UNCW run cut the lead down to just three with two minutes to go. However, the Seahawks couldn’t score another point in the quarter, while the Dragons went on a 9-0 run to close out the game.

Washington was the leading scorer of the game, posting a career-high 21 points. For her efforts, Washington was named CAA Rookie of the Week. Greenberg had a double-double for the Dragons, putting up 14 points and 10 boards. The Seahawks were led by redshirt junior GiGi Smith with 13 points, who had a rough shooting night, going 5-20 (25 percent) from the field.

Drexel shot well on the day, particularly from the three-point line. The squad went 23-50 (46.0 percent) overall, along with 8-18 (44.4 percent) from deep. On the other hand, UNCW struggled, mustering 18-56 (32.1 percent) from the field, while going 4-15 (26.7 percent) from three.

The Dragons had an easier time dispatching the 7-19 Charleston Cougars. After finding themselves down 14-12 after the first quarter, Drexel rallied to take control of the game in the second quarter.

Junior Hannah Nihill was a spark plug once again for the Dragons. She drilled a three to open the second quarter, then added a swipe-and-score to take the lead back for Drexel. Nihill then added another three to make it 21-19 Dragons. From there Greenberg took over, scoring seven straight points for the Dragons to close out the quarter.

In the second half, Drexel took of advantage of Charleston mistakes to widen their lead. The Cougars turned the ball over 16 times in the second half. The Dragons were able to parlay that into 22 points to make the deficit insurmountable for the Cougars.

The Drexel defense held strong to close out the game. Charleston was only able to muster 20 points in the half, shooting a rough 7-25 (28 percent) from the field. Charleston tried to get the threes going to crawl back into the game, but went just 4-16 (25 percent) from beyond the arc in the half. Drexel leads the nation in three-point field goal defense, allowing only an average of 23.1 percent from deep.

Brown, Greenberg and Nihill combined to post 44 of Drexel’s 65 points. Greenberg led the game with 21 points. Greenberg was named CAA Player of the Week for the fourth time this season for her performance over the weekend. Nihill posted 13 points along with six steals. For the Cougars, no one was able to get into double digits, but freshman Arynn Eady led with eight points.

Drexel went 25-54 (46.3 percent) from the field on the day, while struggling from deep on 5-17 (29.4 percent) shooting. Charleston was held to only 17-50 (34 percent) shooting overall, while going 5-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Dragons will return home for their final homestand this weekend. At the Daskalakis Athletic Center, the team will face off with the College of William & Mary Tribe March 1 at 7 p.m., then take on the Elon University Phoenix March 3 at 2 p.m.

Drexel will go for the season sweep against both of these teams. Neither of these teams have had an impressive season so far. The Tribe are currently 5-9 in the conference, and 12-13 overall. Elon have lost three straight and are 3-11 in the CAA this year, to go along with an 8-17 total mark.

The Drexel University women’s basketball team won a pair of home Colonial Athletic Association matches, blowing out the College of Charleston Cougars 76-53, Jan. 25, and defeating the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks Jan. 27, 67-55, during which junior Bailey Greenberg posted a career-high 31 points. The Dragons led from wire to wire in both matches and have now won five straight.

Against the Cougars, Drexel established control of the game quickly. Junior Aubree Brown hit a three from the top of the key, and freshman Maura Hendrixson added two other triples to make it 17-6 Dragons.

Drexel forced nine turnovers in the second quarter to take a larger lead. The Dragons capitalized on the Cougars’ mistakes with success from range, drilling four threes in the quarter. Sophomore guard Hannah Nihill got the first three to go down, followed by one from Brown and capped off by another pair from Hendrixson. The buckets pushed the Drexel lead to 34-16.

The Charleston offense fared better in the second half but was never able to get back in striking distance. A layup by redshirt freshman Ericka Broughton cut the Drexel lead to 19, but the Dragons offense was able to keep pace. Greenberg was the main force for the Dragons’ offense, posting 14 points in the half. Additional threes from Nihill and Hendrixson, along with six points from sophomore forward Mariah Leonard, put Drexel up for good.

The three ball was a consistent strength for the Dragons in the game, shooting 9-18 (50 percent) from beyond the arc on the day. Charleston, on the other hand, was held to a measly 2-18 (11.1 percent) from deep.

Four Dragons scored at least 10 points in the contest, with Greenberg having a game-leading 18 points. Hendrixson posted 15 points for the Dragons while shooting 5-6 from three-point range. Hendrixson was honored by the conference for her performance, picking up her second Rookie of the Week this season. For the Cougars, senior Darien Huff and Broughton each had 12 points. Drexel shot well on the day, going 28-52 (53.8 percent) on the day, while Charleston was held to 18-51 (35.3 percent) shooting.

At the Daskalakis Athletic Center against the UNCW Seahawks, the Dragons, led by Greenberg, came out firing. Greenberg scored five points in the first four minutes of the game to put the Dragons ahead. Then a three from freshman Keishana Washington put the Dragons ahead 10-3. Later in the quarter, UNCW responded with free throws from senior Chinyere Bell and junior Timber Tate, but a three from Hendrixson gave Drexel a 22-12 advantage.

In the second quarter, Drexel played strong defense to get a stronger grip on the game. The Dragons’ top-ranked defense in the country allowed only two UNCW baskets in the quarter, a contested layup by redshirt junior Gigi Smith and a jumper by sophomore Carol-Anne Obusek. Over the past seven games, Drexel has surrendered an average of only 6.1 points in the second quarter. The stout defense combined with eight points from Greenberg, and threes from Nihill and Hendrixson, gave Drexel a 38-16 lead going into the break.

Out of halftime, UNCW went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by two fastbreak scores from Lacey Suggs. Drexel responded with buckets by junior Niki Metzel, Greenberg and another three from Hendrixson pushed the lead back to 21.

However, the Seahawks would go on another run near the end of the third to keep the game close. The 11-0 run stretched into the fourth quarter, cut the deficit to nine and was highlighted by six points from Smith. A three-pointer and second-chance layup from Ashli Jeune made it 52-46 Drexel with half the fourth to go.

Drexel responded by going on a 7-1 run to close out the game. Metzel hit a jumper, followed by Greenberg’s 13th basket and a three from Hendrixson. The run gave the Dragons a 12 point lead which would last until the final buzzer.

A total of 31 points from Greenberg is the most scored by a Dragon since Sarah Curran scored the same number against the College of William & Mary in 2016. Greenberg shot a deadly 13-15 from the field while hitting her first nine shots. Greenberg also had five rebounds and three steals in the contest. For the second week in a row, Greenberg was honored by the CAA, earning Player of the Week for the second time this season.

For UNCW, Smith led with 17 points, along with five rebounds and two steals. Drexel went 24-48 (50 percent) from the field, including 7-20 (35 percent) from deep. The Seahawks were held to 21-53 (39.6 percent) from the floor while shooting 3-14 (21.4 percent) from three.

This weekend, the Dragons will go back on the road where they are undefeated this season. The team will travel to North Carolina to take on the struggling Elon University Phoenix, who have lost four straight, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. Then they will square off with the College of William & Mary Tribe in Williamsburg, Virginia, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m.