PRIDE CAN'T COMPLETE COMEBACK, FALL TO DREXEL

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Recap | Box Scores
Hempstead, NY --

Junior center Jess Fuller (Queens, NY) led Hofstra with 11 points, but it wasn't enough as junior forward Gabriela Marginean provided more than half of Drexel's offense, scoring 29 points as the Dragons posted a 57-50 victory over the Pride in a CAA matchup Thursday night at the Mack Sports Complex.

Freshman guard Nicole Capurso (Staten Island, NY) hit a three-pointer from the left elbow with 1:42 remaining, cutting a second-half deficit that was as high as 16 points down to four. Yet Andrea Peterson converted two free throws on Drexel's next possession to secure the win. Hofstra dropped to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Marginean finished 12-20 from the field as Drexel improved to 11-8 and 6-2 against the CAA.

The Pride was seeking its fifth win in seven games before Marginean's fast start. The Romanian native surged to a hot start, shooting 7-10 in the first half, helping her team build a 27-19 lead at the break. Fuller gave the Pride an answer in the low post, scoring nine points before the break to keep it close.

Freshman forward Joelle Connelly (Arcade, NY) added four rebounds and fell just two points shy of scoring in double figures for the 10th time this season to complement Fuller in the paint. Senior guard Natty Fripp (Oakland, CA) chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.

No other Drexel player besides Marginean scored in double figures. The Dragons still extended its formidable lead early in the second half with a 10-2 run capped by Marginean's three-point play to extend the Drexel's lead to 41-25 with 14:44 remaining. The Dragons have now won four straight in the series.

Capurso, who added eight points off the bench for the Pride, made it a two-possession game with her trey late in the game, slicing Drexel's lead to 53-49. The Dragons survived thanks in part to its strong start.

Marginean would tally 12 of Drexel's first 13 points in the contest as the Dragons opened a 13-7 advantage at the 10:48 mark of the opening 20 minutes. Sophomore forward Ashley Wilcots (Virginia Beach, VA) came off the bench for Hofstra and scored seven first half points in just eight minutes of play to pace the Pride's first half offensive efforts. Wilcots twice helped Hofstra cut the deficit to four as she had a jumper at the 6:53 mark to cut the gap to 15-11 and they converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 5:20 left to make the score 18-14.

Drexel would outscore Hofstra, 14-6, over the first 5:16 of the second half to push its lead up to 41-25 before the Pride mounted a comeback. Fripp would hit a layup moments after Drexel took the 16-point advantage and then added a three-pointer at the 14:11 mark to close the gap to 41-30.

With the visitors ahead 43-32 after the two teams exchanged buckets, Hofstra would use a 5-0 spurt to narrow the deficit to 43-37 following Connelly's lay-up. The Pride would cut the gap even closer with less than four minutes left in the second half after Fripp forced a steal from behind and raced down court for an uncontested layup to make it 48-44 Drexel with 3:38 left in regulation.

Hofstra returns to the Mack Sports Complex court on Sunday when they host James Madison at 2 p.m.

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Photo by Brian Ballweg for Hofstra Athletics