PHILADELPHIA, PA. 12/16/2018 – It was the first time that the Drexel Dragons played the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs. The Dragons are playing well on defense and are the top scoring defensive team in the NCAA. The Runnin’ Bulldogs averaged 67 points, but fell short of their average. Drexel gets win number 7 this season defeating Gardner-Webb of the Big South 65 – 48 at the DAC.
The Bulldogs were having trouble scoring in the first quarter. They made only 1 of 11 field goal attempts and were limited to 4 points in the initial quarter. The Dragons were not stellar on offense at the start, but did come out of the first ten minutes leading 17 – 4. The lead would grow to as many as 25 points.
“Our defense has to dictate the game and at the beginning, we did that,” said Drexel Coach Denise Dillon. “We were disciplined and disruptive from the beginning.”
For the game Gardner-Webb was limited to 21% (16 of 55) and made 4 of 15 from beyond the arc. This is the fewest points scored by the Bulldogs this season.
The Dragons were led by forward Niki Metzel who recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
“My main focus right now is getting rebounds. It was nice to be able to do it.” Metzel said about getting a double-double.
Hannah Nihill scored a team-high 17 points, a career-high. Bailey Greenberg contributed 14 points and 6 rebounds. Aubree Brown broke double-digits scoring 10 points and also grabbed 6 boards.
“I try not to think about it too much,” said Nihill about her point total.
Carly Plentovich scored a game-high 19 points. She had three of the four Runnin’ Bulldogs three-pointers. Gabrielle Caponegro pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Dragons host Penn on Friday morning for a Battle of 33rd Street. Both teams rank #1 and #2 in NCAA scoring defense. Should be interesting.
“We’ll enjoy this for a few more hours then focus in on what needs to be done against Penn.” Dillon said.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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