Before opening conference play, here’s a look at Drexel’s basketball programs so far

On Thursday, Elon awaits the men's team at the DAC (4 p.m.). For the women, it's a road trip to take on UNC Wilmington at 7 p.m.

Drexel forward Mate Okras drives against La Salle's Josh Nickelberry at Tom Gola Arena on Dec. 10. The Dragons head into conference play with a 6-6 record.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer

by Matt Ryan

Published Dec. 27, 2022, 1:24 p.m. ET

As the new year quickly approaches, both Drexel basketball programs are gearing up for Colonial Athletic Association play. The men’s and women’s teams are in different spots entering the conference slate, but, with more than half the season left, there still is a lot of basketball left to play.

Through 11 games on the women’s side, Drexel coach Amy Mallon has her squad at 8-3, with two of the team’s losses coming by three points or fewer. The men’s program has been a bit more up and down at 6-6.

Both teams open conference play on Thursday, the men hosting Elon (4 p.m., FloHoops) and the women visiting UNC Wilmington (7 p.m., FloHoops).

Through nonconference matchups and some tournament play, here are three observations:

Formidable freshmen

The play of freshmen has been paramount for both teams thus far, but on the women’s side, Kylie Lavelle showed early in the season that she could be one of the best rookies in the nation.

Lavelle has missed the last six contests because of injury, but her first five games of the season were nothing short of terrific. The 6-foot-2 forward out of Riverside High School (Moosic, Pa.) averages 18.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, shooting 58.7% from the field, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Lavelle, who is expected to return this season, isn’t the only impressive freshman on the women’s team as Grace O’Neill (Archbishop Carroll) has started all 11 games and is averaging 7.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

On the men’s side, point guard Justin Moore has been a pivotal player in his first season with the Dragons. The Archbishop Wood graduate has started 10 of 11 games and is averaging 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists

Freshman Kobe MaGee recently entered the rotation and has scored at least five points in the last three games.

Keishana Washington’s rise

Throughout the season, Washington has undoubtedly been one of the best players in the nation. She is leading the country in scoring at 28.7 points per game, just ahead of Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist (28.0), and is doing so efficiently, shooting 45% from the field, 35.2% from three, and 85.9% from the free-throw line.

The graduate student guard from Ontario had arguably the best performance of her career to date in an 86-82 overtime victory over Penn State, scoring a career-best 42 points and adding four rebounds and four assists. All of her points came before the extra period, marking a program record for scoring in regulation. The explosion capped a five-game stretch when she averaged 31.2 points.

Washington was named national player of the week for the second time in her career following the Penn State game. (She scored 32 points earlier that week in a win over Dartmouth.)

“She’s been showing us since the start of the season what she’s able to do, from a scoring standpoint but [also] just a leadership standpoint on the floor,” Mallon said after the Penn State game.

CAA preseason poll on point

Entering the season, expectations for both Drexel basketball programs differed. The women’s team was picked to win the CAA, while the men were slated to finish seventh out of 13. As conference play begins, those slots from the preseason poll have been pretty dead on.

Drexel men have the sixth-best overall record in the CAA. Big man Amari Williams has been as advertised, leading the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game while providing stellar defense, averaging 1.9 blocks and steals per game. Coletrane Washington has played well in an expanded role, averaging 12.8 points while shooting 37.2% from three.

The women’s team has the best overall record in the CAA, one game ahead of Delaware, while the rest of the conference has between three and six wins. With solid play from Washington, Lavelle, O’Neill, and Maura Hendrixson, who statistically is the second-best three-point shooter on the team, the Dragons look like a team primed to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.