Guard duo of Amaris Baker and Laine McGurk look to lead Drexel to CAA tournament title
The two locals have powered Drexel to a top-four finish in the conference and are eyeing a berth in March Madness. Like their arrival, the duo’s progression in the program took different paths.
Drexel is entering the Coastal Athletic Association women’s basketball tournament in Washington with a good chance of earning a ticket to March Madness.
The Dragons are powered by two guards with local ties, Amaris Baker and Laine McGurk. Coach Amy Mallon is expected to keep leaning on that backcourt duo on Friday (8:30 p.m., FloSports), when third-seeded Drexel takes on the Elon-Hampton winner in the tournament quarterfinals.
After finishing in the top four in the CAA standings, the Dragons received a double bye in the tournament, giving them a rare six-day break between games.
“We’re just tweaking every single thing that we lacked in,” said Baker, a graduate student. “We’re going to continue to build and strengthen that going into the tournament, and whatever we were doing really well, we want to continue to strengthen that as well.”
Baker, a three-time district champion at Cardinal O’Hara, is averaging a team-high 19.2 points, which ranks second in the CAA. Next to her in the box scores is McGurk, who is logging 13.1 points. The junior sharpshooter graduated from West Chester Rustin.
Baker and McGurk landed in West Philadelphia together three years ago, but they took different paths. After graduating from Cardinal O’Hara in 2021, Baker made stops at Kennesaw State and Harcum College before transferring to Drexel as a junior. Meanwhile, McGurk joined the Dragons out of high school.
Baker, with two years of collegiate experience already under her belt, immediately became a key member of Drexel’s rotation. In her first season with the program, she averaged a team-high 11.7 points.
In the 2023-24 CAA tournament, she was named most outstanding player as Drexel claimed its third NCAA bid. Last season, she improved her scoring to 17 points per game and was named all-conference first team.
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She likely will earn the honor again this year.
“[Baker is] just the ultimate engine for our team,” McGurk said. “You could tell from her production that she’s an amazing player, but it’s not like she just shows up on game day and it happens. She lives that through everything she does in life, she’s just the ultimate winner. … Even when we’re doing the warmup, she’s going 100 miles an hour. She’s going 100%. We’ll be doing shell defense or one-on-one rebounding, and she’s going to knock someone out, she’s going to go after every single ball. She doesn’t wait for the whistle.”
McGurk’s trajectory after arriving at Drexel has been more gradual. With a glut of talented guards on the roster, McGurk played mainly off the bench during her first two seasons. This allowed McGurk to learn from Brooke Mullin in her first year, Cara McCormack in her second, and Baker throughout.
“Given my situation, I had to play behind great players,” McGurk said. “I think a lot of people could have saw that and been ungrateful for that and just thought, ‘Oh, it should be my turn.’ I kind of had the mindset of ‘I get to play behind these great guards, and I’m going to learn as much as I can from them.’”
Added Baker: “Laine, she’s awesome. … She’s just continuing to learn every single day, like, she’s such a sponge. I know the program is going to be in great hands.”
Although Baker feels confident that McGurk will extend Drexel’s winning ways, she is trying to not think too much about a Dragons team without her next season. Alongside Grace O’Neill and Jalyn McNeill, Baker will graduate after this season.
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As for McGurk, all three of her teammates’ departures are at the forefront heading into Friday.
“Something that I tell myself, especially these last couple games, is ‘Do it for the seniors,’ she said. “I love this group so much. I’m so loyal to them. They’ve given so much to the program. They’ve given so much to me. I feel it’s the least that I can do for them — just go out there and try as hard as I can for them.
“Especially [for] Amaris, given how much she’s done for the program and done for everybody. I want the best outcomes. I want [to win] for them. I want it for her.”