Drexel Eliminates Hofstra 60 – 39
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 3/11/2022 –
Tournament time, and your bedrock is defense. It was for the #1 seeded Drexel Dragons in their 60 – 39 win over the Hofstra Pride in the CAA Quarterfinal at the DAC. The Dragons did not let the offense of the Pride to get untracked.
The Drexel defense limited Hofstra to under 10 points in three of the four quarters and 17 of 47 shooting (36.2%) and only a trio of three-pointers.
Root cause? The Dragons had good balance on defense as they created 19 turnovers leading to a 20 – 5 edge in points off turnovers. Of those turnovers 13 came from steals, five by Tessa Brugler and 3 from Maura Hendrixson. Brugler blocked 2 shots and Kate Connolly matched that number.
“We forced 20 points off turnovers and that’s a big difference maker for us,” said Drexel Coach Amy Mallon. It’s something we have control over. We were coming up with loose balls. You don’t play at this time of year if you don’t end up with loose balls and hustle plays. It was not negotiable and we did a great job with that.”
Offensively, Drexel got it going behind Keishana Washington who scored a game-high 21 points. Tessa Brugler added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Dragons made 22 shots (of 55) and of those field goals the team assisted 17 times.
“Whenever I can get shots falling early it keeps me going,” said Washington. “It’s a momentum builder. It gets me going and it gets my teammates going. It lifts our energy for the game.”
Maura Hendrixson had an interesting stat line. She had but 4 points, then added 6 assists, 3 steals, and did not turn the ball over to get a plus/minus rating of plus 27.
Jaylen Hines led the Pride (8 – 20) with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Drexel faces the winner of the Elon vs. Charleston game in the semifinal. The Dragons are trying to repeat as tournament champions. They have the comfort of playing on their home court.
“One thing that makes me more comfortable is playing on our home court.” Washington said. “Our fans were great tonight. I’m excited for what they’ll bring moving forward. We know what it’s like to play in this tournament. We know that teams will come out especially for us because we won. We’re prepared for that and what needs to be done.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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