Nov. 29, 2006
Final Stats
Albany, N.Y. - Freshman Gabriella Marginean posted 24 points leading Drexel past the Saints 69-66 at the Pepsi Arena this evening. Junior Laura Menty (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug) registered her fourth double-double posting career highs with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Shondaya Burrell (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) complimented Menty's performance with 17 points in the Saints overtime defeat.
"Our team showed a lot of intensity tonight," said head coach Gina Castelli. "We showed heart; we are making great strides and improvement. It says a lot about our team coming back from a four point deficit with 28 seconds remaining and then sending the game into overtime."
The Saints struck first posting a 13-0 run that was capped off by a Burrell layup at the 15:25 mark. Drexel battled back eventually evening the game at 24-24 with 3:25 remaining. Dragons guard Alison Lupariello knocked down a 3-pointer with just seconds left bringing a four point advantage into the half.
The Saints trailed the majority of the second half finding themselves down four with under a minute to play. Junior guard Melissa Manzer (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) buried down a three pointer with 28 seconds left in regulation to bring the Saints within one. After a quick foul, Narissa Suber connected on two free throws to extend the Dragons lead to three. Burrell then took an inbound pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup and the foul. She tied the game at 60-60 after connecting on the free throw with just 11 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
Menty scored all six points for the Saints in the overtime session. A Marginean layup and a pair of Dragon free-throws down the stretch were enough to hold off the Saints. The last time Siena lost an overtime game dates back to March 2, 2006 when the Saints fell to Fairfield 60-59 in double-overtime of the MAAC Tournament first round.
The Saints drop to 1-5 on the season. They look to rebound Saturday when they travel to Fairfax, Va. to face fellow Colonial Athletic Association member George Mason at 4 p.m. The Dragons improve to 2-4 overall.
