Drexel roars back to win in Women’s NIT over Bucknell, 61-58
Keishana Washington scored 17 points and sealed the victory over Bucknell with two crucial free throws.
Keishana Washington’s two clutch free throws with nine seconds left capped off an emphatic comeback and lifted Drexel to a 61-58 victory over Bucknell in the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament on Monday night. The Dragons will meet the winner of Virginia Commonwealth-Seton Hall in the quarterfinals.
Washington finished with 17 points while Hannah Nihill (Cardinal O’Hara) led Drexel (28-5) with 18. Cecelia Collins led all scorers with 23 points and Emma Shaffer had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Bucknell (24-10), which led by 43-30 after the third quarter.
Dragons roar back
After shooting 2-for-11 in the third, the Dragons caught fire and shot 9-for-19 in the fourth with Washington scoring 11 points, including her layup that cut the Drexel deficit to 56-55 with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left. Drexel took its first lead of the final frame with a putback from Jasmine Valentine (seven points, five rebounds) with 50 seconds remaining.
Washington closed things out with four free throws over the final 33 seconds to put Drexel up by three. Bucknell’s Marly Walls missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with two seconds remaining.
Bison’s big push
Trailing by four to begin the second half, Bucknell went on a 12-0 run with Isabella King hitting a three-pointer and Shaffer converting two baskets to push the lead to 34-26 at the 5:58 mark in the third.
Collins scored seven of her points in the quarter and Taylor O’Brien (Plymouth Whitemarsh), who had 11 points and five boards, scored four points of her own to give the Bison that 13-point lead heading into the fourth. On the other side, Drexel committed four turnovers in the quarter.