The Guru Report: 7th Seed Drexel Daunting Run in CAA Leads to League Title and the Big Dance

By ROB KNOX

@knoxrob1

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Drexel women’s basketball team could care less about its seeding and destination. 

The Dragons are happy to be included in the NCAA Tournament.

 

Seventh-seeded Drexel secured its second Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship in four years by holding off feisty and talented Stony Brook, 68-60, at the Entertainment & Sports Arena Sunday afternoon. The Dragons learned a few hours later that they earned the No. 16 seed and will meet top-seeded Texas in Austin Friday afternoon in the Portland Two regional. 

 

That didn’t stop the Dragons from celebrating an accomplishment that was achieved with four heart-stopping wins in four days.

 Drexel’s first three victories over No. 10 Delaware, No. 2 Monmouth, and No. 6 Towson were by a combined five points. The Dragons led wire-to-wire to become the second straight seventh seed to win the CAA Tournament.

It certainly can be a payback of sorts on this past week’s path. It started with the local rival Delaware who did the nipping to the Dragons in this event in the Elena Delle Donne era.

The next stop paid back Monmouth who as the seventh seed last year and new CAA member made Drexel the first upset victim on the way to the 2023 title. That win snapped an 0-4 streak with the Hawks.

In the quarterfinal Towson felt the grief delivered not long ago by the Tigers stealing the looming trophy heading Drexel’s way in the closing minutes of the tourney at Delaware.

Finally, top-seed Stony Brook, another new member owning the Dragons, went down depriving the Seawolves access to the NCAA achieved as a recent champion in the America East.

 

Although Stony Brook had a 38-28 rebounding advantage, Drexel won the board battle in the fourth quarter, 8-7, withGrace O’Neill grabbed two of her three boards. 

Defensively, Drexel held Stony Brook to 30.6 percent (19-62) shooting in the game and 24.1 percent (7-29) in the first half.

 

“To win a championship, you hear all the time that rebounding is the key,” Drexel head coach Amy Mallon said. “It was key in 2021 when we outrebounded a talented team in Delaware to win the CAA championship. 

“It was something we knew we had to do. It was something we talked about before the game, to do whatever we had to do to get the ball even if it meant knocking it out of their hands and out of bounds, so they didn’t score,” Mallon said.

“Some of our best rebounders are our guards and you saw that with Grace O’Neill on the floor. We committed to it today and you saw the results. If we didn’t control the boards, it would’ve been hard for us to be successful.”

 

Drexel (19-14) is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history and the second time since 2021. In addition, the Dragons have now reached postseason play in either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT in nine consecutive seasons – the longest active streak in the CAA.

 

Drexel shot 50.0 percent (23-46) from the floor and 57.9 percent from three (11-19) despite not making a basket in the final 5:04 of the contest. The Dragons tied a program record for 3-pointers in a CAA Tournament game. Drexel made 11 3-pointers in a quarterfinal win over William & Mary in 2013.

 

Junior guard Amaris Baker paced Drexel for the fourth straight game, scoring a game-high 19 points, and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 Championship.

 Baker averaged 19.8 points per game during the four-day run. Graduate guard Brooke Mullin, a former Villanova player, added 16 points in the title game and joined Baker on the All-Tournament team, and senior guard Erin Sweeney provided a lift off the bench with a career-high 16 points on Sunday.

 

“My role was to let my teammates know every day that I got you and we can do this,” Baker said. “It was just giving that confidence to them, and it was so contagious.

“ And you see the result now. We needed the challenges we had during the season to understand each other. It took the whole season, but now it’s worth and it means everything. This year has been a rollercoaster. Coming together as a group, we just needed that turning point and it’s been awesome.” 

 

Mullin scored 13 points in the first half to help Drexel lead 36-26 at halftime. Sweeney scored nine points in the third quarter, which Baker finished with a flourish when she swished a 3-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded. Senior forward Chloe Hodges, who had the winning basket in the semifinals against Towson, finished with seven rebounds and six assists.

 

Sweeney picked the perfect time to score a career-high after missing eight games midway through the season. Since returning on Feb. 25, she has scored in double figures three times. 

 

She scored consecutive baskets in the third quarter after the Seawolves cut a 10-point halftime deficit to six points. Later in the quarter, Sweeney made two foul shots after Stony Brook closed to within 43-40 with 3:10 remaining. 

 

She also made a 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped through the net, giving the Dragons a 48-42 lead late in the third quarter. Baker made a 3-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded, giving Drexel a 51-42 lead entering the final quarter.

 

However, Sweeney's most significant moment of the game was grabbing a critical offensive rebound with 80 seconds remaining. Even though Drexel didn't score, it enabled the Dragons to eat more time off the clock.    

 

“I knew we needed scoring in the third quarter, so I just had to take the shots confidently and do whatever we needed at that time, no matter what it was,” Sweeney said. “I wanted to do whatever I could to help my team today. 

“We knew it wouldn't be an easy road to the championship. We have confidence because we drill things like that every time in practice. We are prepared and know what to do. We all believed in each other, and that made a difference.”

 

Throughout a season of tension, turbulence, and triumph, the Dragons remained together even when they went through a stretch where they lost six of nine games from Jan. 21 to Feb. 25. Drexel turned it around and ended the season by winning eight of its final nine games, including six straight. 

 

They won the title with plenty of grit and defense even though four Seawolves scored in double figures, led by All-Tournament selections Gigi Gonzalez, also a Villanova transfer, and Victoria Keenan, but it wasn’t enough against the red-hot Dragons. 

Gonzalez had 18 points, and Keenan added 14 off the bench. Khari Clark (12) and Shamarla King (10) rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers. 

 

Drexel’s defense dominated the first quarter, limiting Stony Brook to 18.8 percent (3-16) shooting en route to a 16-9 lead. The Dragons made four of their first six shots to build an early 9-4 lead, with Mullin scoring the first five points. 

 

Drexel held the Seawolves to 1-for-9 shooting over the final 6:46, and Baker gave the Dragons a seven-point lead on a second-chance layup with 27 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. After missing their first shot, they hit five in a row, pushing the lead to 31-18. 

 

Baker has been shining in the Dragons’ last 10 games, averaging 16.9 points per outing, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3-point distance. Her increased production coincided with the Dragons’ rallying cry “Because We Can.” 

 

“We had so many battles during the season that we lost games because we didn’t take care of the small things,” Mallon said. “I made the point to the team that I am going to keep telling you that I know you can do it, but you just have to believe that you can. That’s where it came from and that set the momentum for us coming into the tournament. 

“I said you can do it and it’s up to you. I could see their eyes lock-in.

 

“I must give Amaris credit with the amount of games, and minutes she plays with how she performed. We talk about being an Iron Dragon. She’s certainly been an Iron Dragon through and through. She shows up and works hard in practice every day and you’re seeing the result today.”

 

Drexel fed off O'Neill's energy, overcame significant foul trouble in which five of the seven players who saw action finished with four fouls.

 

In the final 51 seconds, with Drexel clinging to a 64-60 edge, O'Neill made a steal, made two free throws, and secured a clutch defensive rebound in traffic with plenty of taller Seawolves battling for the ball with 22 seconds remaining. 

O'Neill also fueled a Drexel defensive effort that limited Stony Brook to 30.6 percent (19-62) shooting in the game and 24.1 percent (7-29) in the first half. 

 

"Ever since I was little, I have been very aggressive and competitive," O'Neill said. "I've always been very scrappy. Rebounding and defense have been staples of my game. 

“When shots don't go in, I know my defense is always good to fall back on. We practice being gritty and tough. They read out the stats in practice, and it fuels me, especially when they say who has the most rebounds or most steals. My coaches and teammates instill confidence in me. This feels great and I am looking forward to our next challenge."