Penn State tops Drexel; Temple wins
Drexel coach Denise Dillon's hopes of an opening-weekend sweep at home were ruined last night when a rally fell short and Penn State emerged from the Daskalakis Athletic Center with a 71-61 victory.
Contact staff writer Mel Greenberg at 215-854-5725 or mgreenberg@phillynews.com. Read his blog at go.philly.com/womhoops.
The Dragons host Penn tomorrow afternoon, when Mike McLaughlin makes his coaching debut for the Quakers.
Temple was the only winner among three Big Five teams on opening night, rallying for an 82-76 win over Illinois in overtime at the Liacouras Center.
Drexel senior Gabriela Marginean scored 27 points and moved to within 20 of topping the Dragons' all-time women's scoring record of 1,900, set by Michelle Maslowski in 2003. Jasmina Rosseel added 14 for Drexel.
Penn State's Tyra Grant scored a game high of 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Janessa Wolff scored 14 points.
The Nittany Lions, who last had a winning record in 2004-05, rolled to a 35-15 lead en route to the victory over the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champions.
"Drexel is tough to play," said Penn State coach Coquese Washington, who is in her third season in Happy Valley. "We have a young team so I was happy to get a lead, and we were able to hold onto it."
The Dragons got back into the game with a 10-0 run to finish the half and moved to within five points at 56-51 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the contest, before Penn State held firm.
"We're not going to win games allowing 70 points," Dillon said. "The biggest problem is we didn't adjust to what Penn State did."
Temple 81, Illinois 76 - The Owls rallied from an 18-point deficit early in the second half as Shaqwedia Wallace scored a career high of 27 points and connected on four of nine three-point attempts. Kristen McCarthy added 19 points.
Loyola (Md.) 69, La Salle 55 - Morgan Robertson and Nadia Duncan each scored 12 points for the Explorers in the loss at Tom Gola Arena. Miriam McKenzie scored a game high of 23 for the visitors.
New Hampshire 64, St. Joseph's 56 - Shelby Smith scored 14 points for the Hawks, while Brittany Ford added 13 and Amy Gillespie had 11 in Durham, N.H.
Contact staff writer Mel Greenberg at 215-854-5725 or mgreenberg@phillynews.com. Read his blog at go.philly.com/womhoops.
