Drexel women’s basketball hopes historic season extends with another NCAA tourney berth

In a historic season for Drexel women’s basketball, this is the moment the Dragons have been building toward. Their 24-win season included a stretch in which they didn’t lose for 70 days, and now they’ve earned a No. 1 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association’s tournament, which has the Dragons on the verge of another run at the NCAA Tournament.

“I think it’s exciting; this is what every team wants to do,” said forward Tessa Brugler. “This is March. It’s the most exciting time of the year. It’s what we worked all season long for. Obviously, the hard work has shown.”

Drexel (24-4, 16-2 CAA) comes in as the top seed in the CAA tournament and will compete in the quarterfinals at noon on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s UNCW-Hofstra game.

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The Dragons have tied the program record for most wins in a season and are ranked No. 12 in the mid-major poll. Drexel was the first CAA team this season to receive a vote (1) in the Associated Press poll.

“When you have been coaching as long as I have and you had the opportunity to coach special players, you know when you have them,” said head coach Amy Mallon, who has been a coach at Drexel since 2004 with the last two seasons as the head coach. “This team, as a whole, there’s a special ceiling there. I think they’re capable of doing anything. And I see that in the leadership.”

In her first season as head coach in 2021, Mallon led the Dragons to their first CAA title since 2009 and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Entering last season, Drexel had only reached the NCAAs once before. The Dragons went into this season with higher expectations and were picked to win the conference.

“Having that pressure is a privilege with the respect we have,” Mallon said. “We put ourselves in that position. Having that is the only way to be successful in the end because having that is the only way to compete at the highest level.

“We had a target on our back and that target is still there.”

Defense is Drexel’s strength. The Dragons led the CAA in scoring defense the last two seasons and have been among the top two the last 12 seasons.

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“I think that was something I took a lot of pride in as a player,” Mallon said. “When I came into the program, they had about 10 losing seasons in a row, so we had to find something that we could really fall on. So that’s where that defensive-minded game came in.

“I think the defense really sets the tone for the offense. Our defense is what puts us in position to win.”

A key part of the defense is Brugler, who is second in the conference in blocked shots (39), and fourth in rebounding (8.6 per game). She’s tied for second on Drexel with 14.0 points per game.

Brugler is in her first year at Drexel after transferring from Bucknell. She made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 as a sophomore at Bucknell.

That experience has helped prepare her for this moment.

“I think that the home-team advantage was just something that helped us momentum wise, so I’m hoping that does the same here,” Brugler said.

Mallon knows Drexel is capable of another run into the NCAAs.

“If you see our team play, the character, the grit, the intensity they play with — you’re going to see it all,” Mallon said. “They’re going to fight till the end. And that’s one thing I am very sure of after coaching this team 28 games. I just know they will give it their all.”