TOWSON, Md. ? The Tigers fell to Drexel by a 59-45 score on Wednesday evening in the regular season finale for both teams. Shanae Baker-Brice and Haliena Snowden combined for 21 points as the Tigers (16-12, 8-10 CAA) dropped their third straight and claimed the eight seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.
“I thought we struggled offensively tonight, however I thought we did an decent job defensively,” said Coach Joe Mathews.
A free throw from Jasmina Rosseel at 13:26 gave Drexel a 9-6 advantage in the first half. Katrina Wheeler responded by hitting a jumper at 12:22 that started a 12-0 Towson run. That run covered almost five minutes and saw the Tigers holding an 18-9 lead. Omara Parker connected for six while Dovile Miliauskaite had four on back-to-back baskets. Drexel responded with a 16-7 run to tie the score at 25-25 with 3:33 to play in the half. Kamile Nacickaite had five points for the Dragons during that run. Drexel would get two more baskets to end the half and take a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
The two teams traded baskets coming out of the half with a pair of free throws from Snowden at 13:32 cutting the Drexel advantage to 35-30. Drexel would then score eight unanswered points to take a 43-30 lead with 9:48 to play. Towson used an 8-2 run to cut it to a 45-38 game with 6:05 to play but that was as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the way. Drexel would close the game on a 14-7 run to claim the 59-45 victory.
Baker-Brice scored 11 points and matched her season-high with eight rebounds. She also added two assist, two blocks and three steals. Snowden finished with 10 points, four rebounds, one block and four steals. Parker finished with eight points while Wheeler grabbed six rebounds. In the final regular season home game, the Tigers honored their two seniors Alis Freeman and Brandy Black prior to the contest.
Drexel, who sealed up the CAA regular season title, was led by Gabriela Marginean who finished with 23 points and six rebounds. Nacickaite scored 10 off the bench and grabbed six rebounds. Andrea Peterson finished just shy of a “double-double” with nine points, nine rebounds and two assists.
The Tigers return to action on Thursday, March 12 when the CAA Tournament begins at James Madison. As the number eight seed in the tournament, Towson will face Delaware the nine seed at 12 noon. The winner of that game will advance to face Drexel, the number one seed on Friday.
