In the 2008-2009 season, head coach Denise Dillon and the Drexel Dragons won the Colonial Athletic Association championship and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The season was magical and the Dragons had a great mix of veterans with leadership and experience and young players with talent.
In the two seasons since the 2009 championship, Drexel had successful seasons resulting in trips to the post-season Women’s NIT but the team hasn’t quite had the right mix to win another CAA title. But looking at the 2011-2012 roster, there appears to be a solid mix of veterans and young players along with depth in both the frontcourt and backcourt.
The leaders of the 2009 team were two fifth-year seniors – forward Nicole Hester and point guard Andrea Peterson. Hester won a battle with cancer after missing more than a year of basketball while Peterson missed a year with a knee injury after transferring over from St. John’s. Hester was a great rebounder and provided energy on the floor with her aggressive play and Peterson was one of the best court generals in Drexel women’s basketball history.
Fast forward to 2011 and you have seniors Tyler Hale and Marisa Crane. Hale is the vocal leader of the Dragons but also leads by example on the court with her relentless offensive and defensive rebounding and air tight defense. Crane missed most of last season with a knee injury and returns to resume her role as the starting point guard for the Dragons.
The top offensive player for the Dragons in 2008-2009 was the school’s all-time leading scorer, Gabriela Marginean. Gabby was the 2008-2009 CAA Player of the Year and she could score from anywhere on the floor. This year, senior Kamile Nacickaite fills the role as top offensive option and she really stepped into that role last season as a junior. Nacickaite can shoot the outside jumper and drive inside, making her a real scoring threat anytime she touches the ball.
Recently departed sharp-shooter Jasmina Rosseel was a mere sophomore in the 2008-2009 season and she was still fairly undiscovered by fellow CAA opponents. But her great three-point shooting served as a great complement to Marginean and she made some big shots in the CAA title game against James Madison. The comparison on this year’s roster is junior Hollie Mershon who, despite her great accomplishments last season as a sophomore, was snubbed on the All-CAA team last season and was not selected to this season’s Pre-Season All-CAA squad. Mershon can score inside and outside and she could be the complement that Nacickaite needs on the offensive end.
The 2009 championship team also had some frontcourt depth, something that has been lacking in the last two seasons for Drexel. 6’4” transfer Brooke Cornish and 6’2” Sweden-native Jennifer Stjarnstrom provided valuable minutes in limited action all season long. This year, Coach Dillon welcomes two transfers from big time programs with 6’2”forward Nicole Jones from UMass and 6’1” forward Abby Redick from Virginia Tech.
Young, energetic freshmen also existed on that 2009 CAA title team with the aforementioned Crane, Hale and Nacickaite as well as forward Ayana Lee. The 2011-2012 team will have great energy off the bench as well with players like sophomore Fiona Flanagan and freshmen Jackie Schluth and Tiffany Johnson.
If all these player comparisons weren’t enough to get you thinking, the Drexel Dragons were picked to finish in fourth place in the pre-season CAA coaches’ poll at media day in 2008. At the 2011 media day they were picked to finish in a tie for fifth place, not too far off from the prediction at the start of the 2008-2009 season.
This year’s Dragons will certainly have to earn a CAA title with stiff competition from Delaware, VCU, James Madison and the rest of their conference foes. But with all the similarities to the 2008-2009 team that won that title, you have to feel good about the Dragons chances to surprise some people in the 2011-2012 season.
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