Guru’s WBB March Madness - III: Drexel Overcome By Georgia in Fourth Quarter Finish

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

After the first part of round one of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, all of which is being played in San Antonio, Texas, went perfect for the upper seeds all day Sunday, prognosticators were chomping for upsets during the next set on Monday, listing Drexel as one of the potential upstarts.

And when the 14th-seeded Dragons playing in the first wave of the 16-game marathon took on third-seeded Georgia in the Alamo Region, it initially appeared more memorable moments would join the recent capture of the Colonial Athletic Association championship over top-seeded Delaware.

The long run, however, proved a quarter too far and while upsets and very near upsets did start to occur, the embattled group earlier than they anticipated was reduced to a mixed tears of sadness and tears of joy as the opposition advanced on the high end of a 67-53 outcome.

Tears of sadness that it ended sooner then they would have wanted but tears of joy that together the past seasons of late summer, autumn, and winter, they fought and grew through all of it - the testing, the pauses, the schedule shuffling, the zoom bonding and the battle rallies when they took the hardwood.

“This game is indicative of our team all season long,” first-year coach Amy Mallon said afterwards about playing the Southeastern Conference tournament runnersup to Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks. “We fought so hard and left it all out on the floor. It’s what you want to see your team do in the last game.

“I just reminded them it’s not about this one game. It’s about the chance go play this game is what our season is about, and they put themselves in position to play this game.

“I’m proud of the fight we showed today.”

Technically, one could go all the way back to the early days of demanded quarantine 12 months ago as the pandemic began to spread, causing cancellations of the CAA tourney, where Drexel was the top seed, and then the NCAA as well.

A few weeks later came the anticipated move of Denise Dillon leaving after 17 seasons to go to her alma mater at Villanova replacing the retired Harry Perretta after 42 seasons, but with the lockdown, the word couldn’t be delivered in an orderly manner.

But it was helpful learning Mallon, the associate head coach, was to be promoted, providing continuity and someone widely admired by the Dragons.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, senior Hannah Nihill, who may or may not return, having the NCAA one-time option, wasn’t wearing a coonskin cap, a la Davy Crockett, but she was entitled after being the one doing the best to take no prisoners with 22 points, 10-of-22 from the field, including two deep, a pair of steals, and three assists.

“It was about my teammates setting good screens for me to be able to get open and be in the midrange go get that shot off,” she said of her performance.

“I was a little sad because we worked so hard this season,” Nihill said. “It’s never good when something ends, but I was really proud of all my teammates. We reminded each other to keep our heads high and smile about all we accomplished here.”

But what really excited Nihill was a chance to emerge with a war wound courtesy of an accidental elbow to the eye during the second. 

To hear her tell it, a black eye is a thing of beauty.

“My dream is to have a black eye, that would look real cool,” she said with a big grin beaming into the computer camera to the media viewing from the other side across the country. “I saved it for the last game of the season for it. I really hope it happens.”

Georgia (21-6), by far the most physical team seen all season by the Dragons (14-9), except perhaps Delaware, was missing some key marksmen early on with Gabby Connally sidelined with a lower body injury and go-to Jenna Staiti a late arrival due to an undisclosed medical reason.

The switch enabled the Dragons to be their disruptive selves, leading 15-10 after the first quarter and tied at 25-25 heading to the break.

Even with Staiti doing her thing on the way to all 19 points collected in the second half, the defense held to keep it competitive with 10 minutes left.

But wear and tear were becoming a factor and the weaponry of Keishana Washington with the pair of 30-point games in the CAA tourney upsets of James Madison and the Blue Hens were whittled to seven, though she was good for five assists. 

“The main thing was we started missing shots,” Mallon said. “Once you start missing shots, and you’re not getting stops at the other end, it starts a bit of a rush not thinking there is a lot of time left in the game.”

Added to the momentum swing was the trips to the line offered Georgia, who were 15-of-20 compared to Drexel’s paltry two times.

Staiti wasn’t the only personnel problem with Que Morrison a near triple double 11 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.

“One of our keys was to make them earn every basket, and when you put them at the foul line, you make it easier on them,” Mallon said.

In all, though, the week and experience, though not the normal NCAA format because of COVID protocols, were better to have undergone than not undergone at all.

And having set a new bar, Mallon had no problem setting the goal for 2021-22.

“We have to get better.”