March 8, 2006

2006 Aéropostale
CAA Women's Basketball Championship
First Round - Game 1

FAIRFAX, Va. (March 8, 2006) - The No. 7 seed Drexel Dragons kicked off the 2006 Aéropostale CAA Women's Basketball Championship Wednesday afternoon with a 61-46 victory over the No. 10 seed Towson Tigers at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University.

The Dragons (15-13) used a hot start to jump out to a lead that they would not relinquish. Drexel opened up with a 15-2 run and led 30-21 at the break thanks to a 50 percent first-half field goal percentage, including a 5-of-11 performance from behind the arc. All-CAA second team member Catherine Scanlon scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the first half to lead the Dragons, while third-teamer Narissa Suber chipped in 14 for the game and Nicole Hester added 10. Scanlon also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Towson (9-19) shot just 29.8 percent in the opening stanza and was down 17 with 2:28 to go, but the Tigers used a 10-2 run to end the half. Kacy O'Brien hit a fade-away three-pointer as the shot clock expired with three seconds on the game clock to cut the deficit to single digits before the intermission.

The teams came out of the locker rooms on fire, hitting a combined eight baskets in the first three minutes. The Tigers were able to cut the lead to five points by with a pair of Jamell Beasley free throws following the first media timeout, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the game.

Drexel extended the lead back to double digits at the 11:55 mark with a Suber trey, and the teams traded buckets for the next eight minutes. Towson tried to mount a comeback but All-CAA second team honoree Tierra Jackson went down with an injury with just over three minutes to play.

O'Brien followed the injury timeout with a layup to make it 55-46, but the Dragons then closed out the game with a pair of free throws each from Scanlon and Jackie Falson and a layup from Suber to set the final score.

Towson was led by Beasley, who tallied 11 points and seven rebounds; and Jackson, who netted 10 points and pulled down six boards before leaving the game. O'Brien dished out a team-high four assists.

With the win, Drexel advances to Thursday's quarterfinal round where they will face No.2 James Madison at noon.