Drexel women’s basketball claimed a share of school and city history in early April by defeating Utah 46-43 to seize the Women’s National Invitation Championship, which is the first postseason title for Drexel and the first for any NCAA Division I women’s basketball team in Philadelphia. The Dragons finished the year with a 28-10 record, which is the program’s record for wins in a season.
Senior Taylor Wootton scored her 1,000th career point and led her team with 16 in the game. Hollie Mershon hit a go-ahead layup with 21 seconds remaining and knocked down two free throws in the final moments of the game to give her team its final margin of victory. The senior scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half while eclipsing the 1,600-point mark for her career en route to Tournament MVP honors. Their classmate Renee Johnson-Allen, who finished the game with six points and three rebounds, came up with two key defensive plays in the waning minutes of the game to help the Dragons come from behind for the victory.
The Dragons trailed for nearly the entire first half as the Utes seemed to have an answer every time Drexel got close. After seeing a five-point lead in the second half evaporate, the Dragons fought back with Mershon’s late heroics to bring home the championship and bring the Daskalakis Athletic Center crowd of 1,922 storming onto the court to celebrate with their team.
Wootton, who scored the first seven points for Drexel and played the entire 40 minutes, was named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team alongside Mershon.