Guru’s WBB Report: Drexel Rallies Over Rider to Launch Amy Mallon Era

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

It took awhile with some bumping along the runway but eventually in a game plugged in by both teams  to replace others due to Covid19 the Drexel women got airborne to launch their season with a 62-49 win at Rider, Saturday afternoon, at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J., giving former associate head coach Amy Mallon her first win in her promoted position in her debut appearance.

 

Rider was coming into its first home appearance after getting routed at Villanova Wednesday in what was former Drexel coach Denise Dillon’s first outing returning to her alma mater succeeding the retired Harry Perretta.

 

Fans were not allowed in the arena Saturday among most other places per the protocols.

 

Drexel scored first before the Broncs tore off on a 10-0 run in an opening quarter in which the Dragons shot 7.1 percent from the field.

 

But then the visitors found their footing with a 14-0 run to go ahead in the next period and after a 9-0 Rider run put the Broncs back in front 33-31, the Dragons regained control and went on to finish with the victory.

 

As is everywhere else across the country, Saturday’s game was cobbled together after both teams lost originally scheduled games due to positive tests by opponents.

 

“It’s certainly different at this level,” Mallon said of the on-the-fly, day-to-day navigation of the early season that the NCAA delayed its start by two weeks. “I mean, you’ve seen it at the AAU level, you go to a tournament, the team you’re supposed to play doesn’t show, so it’s, ok, then you play this team over here.

 

“And even now, if you get to play someone else nearby, there’s still a lot going into to it to set up the protocols and testing,” she added.

 

“I knew we could run into the start like we did because they played a game and we hadn’t done anything with referees and all the formalities, but eventually we took a deep breath and settled in, and Hannah (Nihill) gave us the role you’d expect from an upperclassman.”

 

Nihill missed her first six shots but then found her mark, finishing 7-for-13 from the floor to set a game and career high with 22 points, nine of which were off three-pointers, while also shooting 5-for-7 from the line.

 

Keishana Washington scored 12, along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Hetta Saatman had game and career-highs of nine rebounds.

 

Ultimately, the Drexel trademark defense that carried the Dragons to the regular season title in the Colonial Athletic Association before the tournament was cancelled with the start of the massive sports shutdown, made itself felt Saturday forcing Rider into 23 turnovers allowing a 28-7 advantage in points scored off the miscues.

 

Rider was also a regular season champion in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference whose tournament was similarly cut short in Atlantic City, forcing an abrupt end to the collegiate career of Stella Johnson, the nation’s leading scorer who was drafted by the WNBA Phoenix Mercury before landing on the Washington Mystics.

 

Amanda Mobley had 13 points for the Broncs, while Ralphaela Toussaint had 11 points. 

 

Though Drexel now holds a 21-9 lead in the series, it was the first time the two squads met in the now long-running Lynn Milligan coaching era.

 

Rider next hosts Army Wednesday at at 2 p.m. on Wednesday while Drexel heads to Monmouth Saturday at 2 p.m. in West Long Branch, N.J.

 

Meanwhile, Delaware was the only other local set to play Saturday but the Blue Hens’ game with in-state rival Delaware State down in Dover is now scheduled for Wednesday with a tip time not yet known.

 

On Sunday, the lone local has Villanova heading to Quinnipiac up in Hamden, Conn., at 3 p.m.

 

On Monday, Penn State will host St. Francis, Pa., in the Bryce Jordan Center at 6 p.m. while La Salle will get its delayed season start launched hosting Towson at 4 p.m. in the Tom Gola Arena at 20th & Olney.

 

Closer Games and Upsets Hit Ranked Teams: Scores were closer with a few upsets thrown into the mix on day three of the young, delayed season, with No. 24 Missouri State beating No. 12 Maryland in the Beach Bubble Jam in Estero, Fla., while South Dakota State took down No. 15 Iowa State, 76-69, played elsewhere.

 

A tight battle in Chicago at the Wintrust Arena saw No. 13 Texas A&M edged host and No. 19 DePaul, 93-91, while another Beach Bubble game had No. 14 Arkansas top Florida Gulf Coast 86-80. Other games with ranked teams had top-ranked South Carolina go to 2-0 beating South Dakota 81-71 while host and No. 10 Oregon walloped Seattle 116-51.

 

Among unranked teams, North Carolina cruised over visiting UNC Greensboro 96-35, Tennessee got its season started at home beating Western Kentucky 87-47, and George Washington won its second game, ruining the debut of Old Dominion’s DeLisha Milton-Jones, beating the Lady Monarchs 55-37, and American Athletic Conference pick South Florida at home in Tampa beat Jacksonville 84-46.

 

Mike Carey got his 700th win while coaching West Virginia to a 62-42 triumph over LSU in the South Point tourney in Las Vegas, his 412th in his 20th season guiding the Mountaineers.

 

Kysre Gondrezick had 22 points for the winners.

 

“First of all, I’m old, that’s why,” Carey jested of his milestone. “So when you stay in it long enough, you have to win some of them.”

 

Missouri State trailed the Terrapins 43-27 in the first half before rallying and outscoring Maryland by 25 points over the final 21 minutes for the largest win by a Missouri Valley team over a ranked opponent in the top 15 in 19 seasons.

 

Brice Calip had a career-high 26 points for Missouri State.

 

“We weren’t able to get stops on the defensive end and then we were really impatient on the offensive end,” said Maryland coach Brenda Frese.

 

Katie Benzan, the transfer from Harvard, had 16 points for the Terrapins and shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

 

In South Carolina’s win, Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke each scored 19 points for the Gamecocks.

 

Texas A&M held off a late rally by DePaul as the Aggies got 22 points from Kayla Wells while N’dea Jones had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Ciera Johnson had 12 rebounds, and reserve Destiny Pitts scored 12, including a huge three-pointer in the final period.

 

Dee Bekelja had a career high 24 points for the Blue Demons, and Deja Church had a career mark with 22 points.

 

Oregon began the post-Sabrina Ionescu era as potent as ever as Maryland transfer Taylor Mikesell scored 28 points and Lydia Giomi had 15 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Sedona Prince and Nyara Sabally, both sidelined the previous two seasons with injuries, scored 17 and 10 points, respectively.

 

“It was awesome,” Mikesell said. “I think it was really good for all of us collectively just to get back out there on the court and play basketball again. And then super excited for Sedona and Nyara to put on a jersey again.”

 

And that’s the report.