Feb. 5, 2004
Box Score
Philadelphia, Pa. - Sophomore Jackie Falson lit up the court, hitting six of eight three-point shots on her way to a career-high 23 points, to lead the Drexel Dragons 80-74 over the visiting George Mason Patriots on Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. With the win, Drexel snaps a three-game losing streak and improves to 8-11 overall, 5-5 in the CAA. The Patriots fall to 11-6, 6-4 in the conference.
The Dragons jumped out to an early lead, thanks to excellent first-half shooting by Ola Snytsina and Katrina Martin. The Patriots battled back and managed to take over the lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half after Lauren Hediger hit a three-point shot to make the score 27-26. A lay-up by Catherine Scanlon put the game back in Drexel's favor but back-to back three-pointers by Laura Kooij and Hediger gave George Mason the lead and a 35-32 advantage going into halftime.
Falson came alive in the second-half and hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Dragons the lead, a lead that they would never relinquish, just two minutes into the half. George Mason's Vernessa Neamo, who scored 17 second-half points, fought hard to keep the Patriots close and, after making two diving lay-ups and then collecting two free throw points, brought GMU with two points, 72-70, with just under two minutes remaining in the game. Martin drove the lane to give Drexel a little extra room but it was a buzzer-beating, hanging three pointer by Falson that put the crowd on its feet and the Dragons definitively on top. Jen Derevjanik raced down the court to give the Patriots one more basket, but it was not enough and Drexel took its second-ever victory over George Mason, 80-74.
Falson led a team of four players in double figures with 23 points. Martin tallied 19 points and a game-high three steals, while Snytsina went four-for-six from the charity stripe to notch 16 points. Scanlon just missed a double-double, chipping in 10 points and nine rebounds, before fouling out of the game.
Neamo scored a game-high and career-high 28 points. She added a team-high six rebounds, five assists and two steals to her impressive performance. Derevjanik notched 17 points and two steals.
