Drexel defeats Elon to advance to semifinals of CAA women’s tournament
After winning the CAA Championship two seasons ago and losing to William & Mary in the semifinals last season, Drexel has a shot at returning to the title game.
For the third straight season, the Drexel women’s basketball team will advance to the Coast Athletic Association semifinals following a 68-53 win over Elon in the quarterfinals on Friday night.
The third-seeded Drexel will play No. 10 seed Hofstra in the semifinals on Saturday at 4:30 pm. Hofstra upset the second-seeded Campbell, 55-50, on Friday, becoming the lowest-seeded team to ever reach a CAA semifinal.
Freshman and Philly local, Molly Rullo, scored six of Drexel’s first eight points in the opening quarter before sisters Mariah and Bria Watkins traded baskets to give the Dragons an early lead. The trio combined for 16 of the 20 points scored by Drexel in the first quarter.
Drexel grabbed a double-digit lead in the second quarter, but Elon responded with a 10-3 run to erase the deficit. The Phoenixes’ offensive boards helped fuel their run, scoring 11 second-chance points in the second quarter, with Tamia Watkins and Quinzia Fulmore pacing Elon in rebounds at 15 and 13, respectively.
But Drexel confined Elon’s second-chance points in the second half.
“At this time of the year, rebounding wins games,” said Drexel coach Amy Mallon. “For us, that was on the board even when we left the locker room, so we really said we had to shut that down.”
Drexel pushed its lead to double digits again in the third quarter, using a 9-0 run to take a 13-point lead while holding Elon to 0-7 on field goal attempts during a scoring drought that spanned nearly six minutes.
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Still, Elon showed no quit. The Phoenixes clawed back to within five heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
Drexel regrouped between quarters, focusing on the defensive end and regaining momentum with a 14-2 run to start the fourth quarter.
“We came out, and we started moving the ball. We weren’t taking quick shots,” Mallon said. “We were waiting to see the open player. We were getting the open player the second or third time. And I think our patience at times became part of our defense. Our offense became part of our defense.”
Drexel’s Amaris Baker, a Cardinal O’Hara alumnus, had 16 points.
After winning the CAA Championship two seasons ago and losing to William & Mary in the semifinals last season, Mallon said her team knows what it feels like to win and go home early from the tournament.
“They know both sides of that, so I think that’s something we use to our advantage, but it also is a new group,” Mallon said. “We said that you’re going to fight for everything you get, and I think they’re going to come into it knowing that.”
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Earlier this season, Drexel had a pair of dominant regular-season wins over Hofstra. But Mallon said they’re approaching it with a 0-0 record at this point in the season and not looking at what happened prior in the season as anything but a learning experience.
“I know they’re going to come in fired up,” Mallon said. “We got to show up, because right now, the teams that show up and execute focus are going to be the teams that do their best. I’m going to remind my team that’s what we need to do tomorrow in order to be successful in the end.”