Drexel upsets No. 2 seed Monmouth to earn a spot in the CAA semifinals
It was the team’s second consecutive victory determined by just one possession. Now, they'll play the winner of No. 6 Towson and No. 3 Charleston on Saturday.
Drexel continued its inspiring postseason run Friday evening, when the No. 7-seeded Dragons topped No. 2-seed Monmouth, 58-56, in the quarterfinals of the Coastal Athletic Association women’s basketball tournament.
It was the team’s second consecutive victory that was determined by just one possession, following Drexel’s 57-55 Thursday win over Delaware inside the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington.
Drexel will play the winner of No. 6 Towson vs. No. 3 Charleston in the semifinal round on Saturday (4:30 p.m., FloHoops).
”I’m just so proud of this group and the resiliency they showed,” coach Amy Mallon said. “It was a defensive battle. … This is where we need to be in March. We have to be the ones who throw the punches. I think one of the things we were looking for was all five [players on the court] looking to score.”
While Drexel entered Friday with momentum, Monmouth was playing its first conference tournament game after it received a double-bye as one of the CAA’s top four seeds. Additionally, Monmouth swept the regular-season series between the two teams by a combined 14 points.
Yet, it was Drexel that pushed the throttle early.
The Dragons jumped to a 19-10 advantage after one quarter and carried their nine-point lead into the half. Monmouth slowly climbed back, tying the game for just the second time at 56 with less than one minute remaining. However, sophomore guard and Archbishop Carroll alumna Grace O’Neill hit a go-ahead, mid-range bucket to push Drexel ahead with less than 35 seconds to play.
”Our message in [the fourth quarter] was stay composed and continue to be tougher than the other team,” O’Neill said. “Working to get those rebounds, get those important shots when we needed them. The team did exactly that. We really focused on being the tougher team in this matchup.”
Four of Drexel’s five starters finished with double-digit points, with Amaris Baker (18 points), Hetta Saatman (13), Brooke Mullin (11), and O’Neill (10) combining for 52 of the team’s 58 points. Baker got her total on 7 of 9 shooting and added five rebounds and five assists.
”Everyone stepped up. We’re one of those teams [right now] that’s dangerous to play in March,” Mallon said. “That’s kind of been the theme right now with our group. We’re a very dangerous team to play. We’re not a team [opponents] want to see because we’re going to show out on the defensive end. Offensively, we keep taking a step in the right direction.”
Monmouth shot just 36.8% [21-of-57] from the field. Guard Ariana Vanderhoop paced the Hawks and finished as the team’s lone double-digit scorer with 16 points. Drexel pounced on Monmouth’s mistakes, tallying seven steals and 16 points off turnovers.
“There were a lot of nerves with our team,” Monmouth coach Ginny Boggess said. “It meant a lot to [Drexel] today, and you could tell that in their fight.”