Spiders fall to Drexel after second-half collapse

Drexel University, led by guard Jasmine Rosseel, overpowered the University of Richmond late during the second half at the Robins Center Friday night and won 67-52.

Drexel shot 58 percent from three-point territory. Rosseel hit five three-pointers and scored all of her 21 points during the second half. Her three-consecutive 3-pointers stole the momentum from the Spiders, who had jumped out to a six-point lead early during the second half.

"[Drexel guard Marisa Crane] was penetrating the lane, and [Rosseel] was getting open shots," said Richmond guard Kara Powell, who finished with 13 points. "We looked sluggish."

Richmond coach Michael Shafer, his voice hoarse from shouting from the sidelines, said he was perplexed by the second-half defensive meltdown.

"Honestly, I don't know what happened," Shafer said. "I know I'm a coach and I'm supposed to know but I don't. Runs happen in basketball. Missed shots happen in basketball. They don't determine the game. Tonight we let those things determine the game. We need to respond better to that kind of adversity."

Brittani Shells led the Spiders with 15 points and five rebounds, but was 7-22 from the field and 0-3 from 3-point range. With its offense struggling, Richmond had a hard time making up the difference.

Drexel jumped out to an early 9-0 first half lead, keeping Richmond off the scoreboard until 16:55 when Shells hit a jump shot.

The jumper started a 15-0 run, and with 8:29 remaining during the first half, Richmond forward Crystal Goring hit a jump shot which gave the team a 21-13 lead. The eight-point advantage was the Spiders' largest of the game.

But the Dragons closed the gap during the closing minutes and the teams went to the locker rooms at the half tied at 22.

A minute and a half into the second half the Spiders took a six-point lead after Powell scored on a layup. Shells then nailed a layup, forced a turnover and took advantage of a one-on-one, hitting a 10-foot jumper.

Rosseel seized the momentum back for the Dragons by knocking down a long 3-pointer, leading to seven unanswered points.

At 13:08, the Spiders called a time out with a 33-32 lead.

During the next three minutes the lead changed hands from play to play until Drexel dropped two three-pointers with nine minutes remaining, taking a six-point lead. Rosseel, who was held scoreless through the first half, dominated the Spider defense scoring five times from behind the 3-point arc.

The Spiders held the lead for the last time with 11 minutes remaining.

Richmond, an injury-ridden team, was outplayed during the closing minutes, shooting only 30 percent from the field during the half. Shafer said having injured players, including sophomores Samantha and Rachael Bilney, had hurt the team because it is missing some of the taller players. Drexel had a clear size advantage, and out-rebounded Richmond 39-30.

Though team seemed to play sluggishly towards the end of the game, Shells said fatigue wasn't the main factor in the loss.

"Tired is just an excuse," she said. "We already know as a team what we had to do. We've been in these situations many times before. ... Going forward we need to improve defensively."

Shells was not discouraged by having one bad night, she said.

"I'm not going to hang my head," she said. "I've been blessed. In the first two games I shot over 50 percent. They're not going to drop every night."

Shafer said that Shells had rushed her shots.

"She needs to slow down," he said. "She's rushing, as evidenced by the last possession where she turned the ball over. She wants to be good, she wants to please. ... Her motives are right, but she needs to be patient."

Drexel's star forward, Gabriela Marginean, led all scorers with 22 points and broke Drexel's school record for career total points during this game, despite spending eight minutes of the second half on the bench in foul trouble. Marginean was the 2008-2009 CAA Player of the Year.

Contact Collegian reporter David Larter at david.larter@richmond.edu