PHILADELPHIA – Drexel opened the game on a 15-2 run and shot over 50 percent for the entire contest to ultimately down the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team, 62-52, in the final game of the 26th Annual Hawk Classic in Hagan Arena on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 3-4 while the Dragons improve to 4-3.

Freshman forward Gabby Smalls scored a team-high 12 points and matched a team-high five rebounds while sophomore guard Katie Jekot chipped in 10.

How It Happened
• Drexel shot 6-of-11 from the field in the first quarter to take a 15-7 advantage after the first 10:00. Freshman forward Claire Melia hit a lay-up just 20 seconds into the game (9:40) to put the Hawks on the board first, but the Dragons took advantage of five SJU turnovers and tore off on a 15-0 run, holding SJU scoreless for over eight minutes. Sophomore forward Katie Mayock scored the final five points of the quarter to put the Hawks back in it.
• The Dragons kept up the offensive pressure, shooting 50 percent in the second quarter to take a 32-21 edge into the halftime break.
• Drexel opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run, but Saint Joseph's responded with a 16-4 run to close its deficit to eight, 48-39, heading into the final 1:06 of the third; Smalls scored 11 of her 12 points on the day during that run.
• Freshman guard Kaliah Henderson closed the third and opened the fourth with a pair of jumpers to inch the Hawks back to within eight, but Drexel would keep SJU at a distance for the remainder of the final quarter to seal the win.
 
Postgame Thoughts
"Minus the first quarter, we came back and really fought hard to get back," said head coach Cindy Griffin following the game. "But, when you dig yourself that hole against a very talented team, it's very difficult to come back. It's just disappointing in the way that we came out. I thought that we were prepared for what Drexel was going to do to us . . . Now we're playing catch-up. Drexel played a very, very good game and made shots when they needed to. They capitalized on all of our turnovers. That's been an issue for us, taking care of the ball. We have to be better and we need a better floor game from our guards in the back court. That goes for everybody . . . We need to make it difficult for people to press us.

"Gabby [Smalls] is a warrior. She plays so hard and practices hard. Everything she does, she does at a different level, and it pays off. She's really just getting better and better every time out onm the court."