Unleashing the Dragon: Women Lose to Drexel

Sports Editor Brian Chan

After a paltry shooting performance at Northeastern University last week, the George Mason University women’s basketball team (2-19, 0-10) made three of their six first-half 3-pointers in their 71-52 loss to the Drexel University Dragons (13-8, 8-2) last Thursday.

Sophomore guard Brittany Poindexter led Mason with 13 points as she scored in double-digits for the 10th time this season. She raised her team-leading scoring average to 9.8 points per game.

Since the departure of Lateisha Wade, Poindexter’s role on the team has been increasingly significant. She provides a balance attack as she is second on the team with 113 rebounds and 33 assists.

Defensively, Poindexter leads Mason with 42 steals. In the loss to Drexel, she recorded two steals.

Mason battled early on as junior guard Rashauna Hobbs scored the team’s first six points with two 3-pointers. She led Mason with nine points in the first half, but was held scoreless for the rest of the game.

Drexel’s suffocating defense was able to force Hobbs to turn the ball over a game-high four times.

Drexel gave Mason problems throughout the night with full-court pressure, which led to 17 turnovers for the Patriots.

Taking advantage with their 10 steals, the Dragons outscored the Patriots 27-10 in points off turnovers.

Despite being able to contain Mason’s offense, the Dragons were able to pull away in the second half after an offensive outburst.

Coming out of halftime with a 34-25 lead, Drexel exploded to a 12-2 run and never looked back after that. The Dragons shot 63.6 percent in the second half while outscoring the Patriots 37-27.

Dragons forward Gabriela Marginean only shot 2-of-7 in the first half, but responded by shooting 5-of-6 from the field in the second half to lead all scorers with 21 points.

Entering the game, Marginean ranked fifth in the nation in scoring with 22.9 points per game. Marginean and three other Dragons’ starters scored in double-digits.

Forward Nicole Hester recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and made three 3-pointers for Drexel. The Dragons made nine total shots from behind the arc. Marginean and guard Jasmina Rosseel made two 3-pointers apiece.

Rosseel scored 15 points and guard Andrea Peterson added 11 points and five assists.

“We stopped defending and lost our intensity as we allowed them to penetrate easily. We did not have enough energy in the second half. Good teams [like Drexel] will make you pay,” said head coach Jeri Porter.

Freshman guard Becky Cox was limited in the first half after picking up two early fouls and a third just before halftime.

“Those early fouls were important because I could not play aggressively on defense, which hurts the team,” said Cox.

Since being placed in the starting lineup against the James Madison University Dukes on January 22, Cox has been a major part of the team’s offense.

She scored 12 points in a near-upset over the Dukes and followed that performance with a career-high 14 points against the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks.

However, Cox was held to just three points in her limited role against Drexel.

Entering Thursday night’s matchup, the Patriots were the lowest scoring offense in the CAA, while the Dragons had the third-best scoring defense.

“We have struggled to score all season and it has been difficult finding a particular hot-hand. Drexel did a good job mixing things up, which challenged us to find ways to score points,” said Porter.

Sophomore forward Eugenia Broadus added nine points, and sophomore guard Brittany Eley and senior forward Brittney Wilkins each scored eight points.

Against the Northeastern Huskies, the Patriots shot only 20 percent in the first half in a game they lost by 10 points.

Even though Mason kept the score close in the first half, the team still shot below 40 percent against Drexel.

As the Patriots fall for the 11th consecutive time, the team remains winless in conference play. Yet, the team continues to search for their first CAA win even when they face top-tier opponents like Drexel.

“The loss [to Drexel] sends us back to the drawing board to find ways to win in the conference,” said Hobbs.

“It is very important to keep fighting because we will realize that our hard work will eventually pay off.”

The two teams will meet again on March 1 in Philadelphia.