# 2021–22 Drexel Dragons women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Drexel Dragons women's basketball team represented Drexel University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Dragons, led by second-year head coach Amy Mallon, played their home games at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

## Previous season

The Dragons finished the 2020–21 season 14–9, 8–6 in CAA play to finish tied for third place. They defeated Delaware in the CAA tournament championship, and earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kayla Bacon | 4 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Owings Mills, MD | Graduated |
| Elizabeth Dufrane | 14 | G | 5'8" | Freshman | Falls Church, VA | Transferred to University of Mary Washington |

### Incoming transfers

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tessa Brugler F | Nazareth, PA | Bucknell University | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Apr 1, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Drexel 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. "Drexel Dragons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Momo LaClair G | Syracuse, NY | Jamesville-DeWitt | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Sira Ba F | Montreal, Canada | Antoine-de-St-Exupéry | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Drexel 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. "Drexel Dragons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2022. ||||||

## Preseason

In a poll of the league coaches, media relations directors, and media members at the CAA's media day, Drexel was picked to finish in first place in the CAA. Hannah Nihill and Keishana Washington were named to the preseason All-CAA first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 5, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Chestnut Hill | W 61–25 | | – | – | – | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, PA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2022* 5:00 pm | | Marist | L 50–52 | 0–1 | 14 – Nihill | 14 – Brugler | 6 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,846) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 12, 2021* 8:00 pm, NBCSPHI+ | | Saint Joseph's | W 63–55 | 1–1 | 19 – Brugler | 7 – Tied | 5 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,351) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 17, 2021* 7:00 pm, NBCS+ | | La Salle | W 71–65 | 2–1 | 17 – Brugler | 11 – Brugler | 7 – Washington | Daskalakis Athletic Center (611) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 20, 2021* 2:00 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 65–60 | 3–1 | 16 – Brugler | 14 – Leonard | 7 – Nihill | Hytche Athletic Center (200) Princess Anne, MD |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Nebraska The Dana on Mission Beach Semifinals | L 53–65 | 3–2 | 19 – Nihill | 10 – Brugler | 4 – Washington | Jenny Craig Pavilion (368) San Diego, CA |
| November 27, 2021* 5:00 pm | | vs. Fresno State The Dana on Mission Beach 3rd place game | W 63–46 | 4–2 | 15 – Nihill | 14 – Brugler | 7 – Washington | Jenny Craig Pavilion (286) San Diego, CA |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 pm | | Dartmouth | W 67–44 | 5–2 | 18 – Washington | 6 – Nihill | 4 – 3 Tied | Daskalakis Athletic Center (502) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 4, 2021* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Maine | W 57–33 | 6–2 | 25 – Washington | 8 – Brugler | 4 – Nihill | Cross Insurance Center (897) Bangor, ME |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm | | Longwood | W 79–57 | 7–2 | 23 – Nihill | 16 – Leonard | 7 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (524) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 14, 2021* 5:00 pm | | Yale | W 59–52 | 8–2 | 25 – Washington | 12 – Brugler | 2 – 3 Tied | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,155) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 21, 2021* 1:00 pm | | at Delaware State | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | Memorial Hall Dover, DE |
| CAA regular season |||||||||
| January 7, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Charleston | W 61–60 | 9–2 (1–0) | 33 – Washington | 13 – Brugler | 7 – Tied | TD Arena (203) Charleston, SC |
| January 9, 2022 1:00 pm | | at UNC Wilmington | W 71–68 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 (2–0) | 19 – Washington | 13 – Leonard | 5 – Nihill | Trask Coliseum (418) Wilmington, NC |
| January 14, 2022 7:00 pm | | Northeastern | W 63–50 | 11–2 (3–0) | 19 – Brugler | 10 – Brugler | 5 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (626) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 16, 2022 2:00 pm | | Hofstra | W 72–53 | 12–2 (4–0) | 22 – Washington | 5 – Leonard | 7 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (519) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm | | Towson | W 58–54 | 13–2 (5–0) | 17 – Washington | 12 – Leonard | 6 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center (511) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 23, 2022 2:00 pm, NBCSPHI | | Delaware | W 70–62 | 14–2 (6–0) | 22 – Nihill | 7 – Tied | 9 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (667) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 28, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Elon | W 72–60 | 15–2 (7–0) | 21 – Nihill | 13 – Brugler | 5 – Nihill | Schar Center (721) Elon, NC |
| January 30, 2022 2:00 pm | | at William & Mary | W 75–67 $^{2OT}$ | 16–2 (8–0) | 40 – Washington | 11 – Leonard | 4 – Hendrixson | Kaplan Arena (256) Williamsburg, VA |
| February 4, 2022 7:00 pm | | UNC Wilmington | W 72–39 | 17–2 (9–0) | 19 – Nihill | 4 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Daskalakis Athletic Center (620) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 6, 2022 1:00 pm | | Charleston | L 73–74 | 17–3 (9–1) | 28 – Brugler | 12 – Brugler | 5 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (522) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 11, 2022 7:00 pm | No. RV | at Hofstra | W 63–47 | 18–3 (10–1) | 21 – Washington | 8 – Tied | 7 – Nihill | Hofstra Arena (301) Hempstead, NY |
| February 13, 2022 12:00 pm | No. RV | at Northeastern | W 61–46 | 19–3 (11–1) | 19 – Washington | 13 – Valentine | 6 – Nihill | Cabot Center (209) Boston, MA |
| February 16, 2022 5:00 pm | | James Madison | W 64–61 | 20–3 (12–1) | 18 – Nihill | 7 – Brugler | 7 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center (498) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 20, 2022 1:00 pm, NBCSPHI | | at Delaware | W 65–64 | 21–3 (13–1) | 32 – Washington | 9 – Brugler | 5 – Nihill | Bob Carpenter Center (1,834) Newark, DE |
| February 25, 2022 7:00 pm, NBCSPHI+ | | William & Mary | W 63–43 | 22–3 (14–1) | 20 – Washington | 7 – Brugler | 8 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center (570) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 27, 2022 2:00 pm | | Elon | W 72–57 | 23–3 (15–1) | 27 – Washington | 9 – Brugler | 7 – Nihill | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, PA |
| March 3, 2022 7:00 pm | | at James Madison | W 80–60 | 24–3 (16–1) | 23 – Nihill | 9 – Brugler | 7 – Tied | Atlantic Union Bank Center (2,549) Harrisonburg, VA |
| March 5, 2022 2:00 pm | | at Towson | L 61–69 | 24–4 (16–2) | 18 – Nihill | 9 – Brugler | 5 – Nihill | SECU Arena (816) Towson, MD |
| CAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2022 12:00 pm | (1) | (8) Hofstra Quarterfinal | W 60–39 | 25–4 | 21 – Washington | 10 – Brugler | 6 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, PA |
| March 12, 2022 1:00 pm | (1) | (5) Charleston Semifinal | W 71–65 | 26–4 | 25 – Washington | 16 – Brugler | 9 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center Philadelphia, PA |
| March 13, 2022 1:00 pm | (1) | (2) Delaware Championship | L 59–63 | 26–5 | 22 – Washington | 8 – Brugler | 5 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,812) Philadelphia, PA |
| WNIT |||||||||
| March 17, 2022 6:00 pm | | Norfolk State First round | W 54–47 | 27–5 | 16 – Washington | 13 – Hendrixson | 8 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center (435) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 21, 2022 6:00 pm | | Bucknell Second round | W 61–58 | 28–5 | 18 – Nihill | 7 – Tied | 5 – Hendrixson | Daskalakis Athletic Center (667) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 24, 2022 7:00 pm | | at Seton Hall Third round | L 71–78 | 28–6 | 20 – Nihill | 12 – Brugler | 4 – Nihill | Walsh Gymnasium (593) South Orange, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Awards
### Brianne Borcky

* Steven Sher Academic Award

### Tessa Brugler

* CAA All-Conference Second Team
* City of Basketball Love All–City 6 First Team
* CAA Player of the Week
* Rebounding Award (team leader in rebounds)
* Mo Cronin Spirit & Leadership Award

### Maura Hendrixson

* Lil Haas Coaches Award

### Mariah Leonard

* Charge Leader Award (team leader in charges drawn)

### Amy Mallon

* CAA Coach of the Year

### Hannah Nihill

* CAA All-Conference Second Team
* CAA All-Defensive Team
* City of Basketball Love All–City 6 Second Team
* Preseason CAA All-Conference First Team
* Meghan Creighton Assist Award (team leader in assists)
* Team Defensive Player of the Year

### Hetta Saatman

* Steven Sher Academic Award

### Jasmine Valentine

* Liz Berry Most Improved Award (team's most improved player)

### Keishana Washington

* CAA All-Conference First Team
* City of Basketball Love All–City 6 First Team
* CAA Player of the Week (4)
* CAA All-Tournament Team
* CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year
* Preseason CAA All-Conference First Team
* Team Most Valuable Player
* Steven Sher Academic Award

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes |
| NR | Not ranked |
| ( ) | Number of first place votes |