PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- A pair of 20-point outbursts from Hannah Nihill and Keishana Washington helped Drexel overcome a double-double by All-Big South forward Akila Smith and lift the Dragons to a 79-57 home win over Longwood Saturday afternoon at Daskalakis Athletic Center.
"The big story line is we keep getting better and better each game," said Longwood head coach Rebecca Tillett. "Drexel is a very veteran, solid team coming off of a championship year, and in this tough schedule that we've created, they're another team put there to really test us. You can't tell from the results, but our performances keep getting better and we're just staying on course so that this will all help us in Big South play."
"It's definitely frustrating to lose four in a row like we have, but I think as the team goes, we have enough confidence in ourselves to know what we are capable of, and we know that we have been playing really high quality teams," said junior guard Anne-Hamilton Leroy. "At this point, it's staying true to who we are and getting better every day in practice and taking it one game at a time while we finish off the non-conference schedule."
Nihill led all scorers with 23 points while Washington added 21 as the duo combined for 55 percent of Drexel's scoring and vaulted the Dragons to their fourth straight win. Nihill hit three of Drexel's five three-pointers, while Washington did her damage inside the arc on seven made field goals and a perfect 7-of-7 shooting performance from the free throw line.
Those 20-point performances helped Drexel (7-2) offset an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double from the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Year Smith, who scored 12 points in the second half. Smith, who leads the Big South in field goal percentage and blocks and ranks third in scoring and sixth in rebounds, scored Longwood's final five points to close out her third double-double in the past four games.
"I thought we fought hard, but we gave up three's early and we had to dig out of it a bit," said redshirt sophomore Adriana Shipp, who added a double-double of her own. "The coaches always say the board women gets paid, so we'll take that with us moving forward."
"It's in our control with how much confidence we have, and we all want to get better for conference play," said Tillett. "Of course none of us are going to be satisfied until we see the results we're working so hard to get, but I think you see the consistent growth so when we get to Big South, we are prepared to guard opposing actions."
LeRoy and Shipp also scored in double figures for Longwood with 10 points apiece. Shipp added a season-high 14 rebounds, earning her first double-double of the season and her second in a Lancer uniform. It still was not enough to bounce back from a first-quarter flurry that saw Drexel jump out to a 24-14 lead. The Dragons, who tied Delaware for the top spot in the Colonial Athletic Association's preseason poll, rode that lead the rest of the way and never trailed.
"Before the game, Tillett set a rebounding goal and I just wanted to get that for her, so every shot that went up I just went after it," said Shipp. "It would mean more if we won, but it felt good to be helpful in an important area on the court. Coach says when we get defensive boards, it's harder for teams to score, and so I am down to do that plan."
The loss marks the end of a grueling six-game road swing for the Lancers, who have spent the past three weeks playing in Iowa, Texas and Pennsylvania. They will make their return home to Willett Hall this Wednesday, Dec. 15, for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Richmond.
"Team wise, we look very different from last year, and our depth will come in during conference," said Leroy. "I feel like that is something that separated us from teams last year and we always talk about how competitive we are, and it's not fun to lose at all. We're focused on what we can do together, and what we can accomplish as a team, and I feel like because we're so united in that, we will find our way."
"Getting back home in Willett, to our nets and the comforts of home, it'll be special," Tillett said. "We all know that we're getting ready to play two really good teams at home as well. So we've got to be locked in and take the lessons we've learned so far and apply them to Richmond, then turn around and apply them to American."
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