Drexel women ‘right where we want to be’ after winning the first game in Big 5 Classic pod play

The Dragons came out on all cylinders on Wednesday. Next up, Temple, for a chance to qualify for the championship game of the inaugural women's Big 5 Classic on Dec. 6.

Drexel guard Amaris Baker scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Dragons to a win over La Salle in their first Big 5 pod play game.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

by Paulie Loscalzo

Published Nov. 14, 2024, 2:05 p.m. ET

On Wednesday night, the Daskalakis Athletic Center was home to the first women’s Big 5 Classic pod game.

As the ball tipped off between Drexel and La Salle, there was a feeling of intensity — and importance.

Drexel’s student section, the DAC Pack, kept with Big 5 tradition and showered the court with streamers. After the teams traded three-pointers to knot the score, 5-5, the Dragons went on a 15-0 scoring run, building a massive cushion they would never relinquish in what amounted to a 73-40 Drexel win. The closest the Explorers came to threatening coach Amy Mallon’s team was right out of halftime, when a Drexel turnover enabled La Salle to trim its deficit to 14.

Drexel’s win was fueled from all 10 players Mallon utilized. Amaris Baker led the Dragons in scoring with 22 points. The other standout in this game was Deja Evans, who collected an extremely efficient 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes. The Archbishop Wood graduate was physically dominant in the paint all night long, both offensively and by keeping the Explorers at bay with three blocks.

“She is a big difference-maker,” Mallon said of Evans. “Defensively, just the presence to block shots and to deter some of those drives from the opposing teams, and from an offensive standpoint, her ability to score on the block. … I think you’re going to see more and more of Deja Evans doing that at a high level for us as we continue to get comfortable playing together.”

Chloe Hodges, Laine McGurk, and Cara McCormack also stood out against La Salle. All three helped ease Evans' and Baker’s scoring burden as they combined for 23 points and collectively shot 5-of-13 from three.

While it may be Drexel’s first season in the Big 5, its championship DNA is well-chronicled in the Coastal Athletic Association. Now, Mallon relishes the opportunity to play for another championship in the middle of the season.

“The best thing about the Big 5 is that you can contend for another title in your season,” said Mallon, who played at St. Joseph’s in 1992-93 and previously was an assistant for the Hawks and Villanova. “Any player that has an opportunity to contend for any title is something they’re going to be excited about, and that’s what we strive to do.”

The Dragons will take on Temple on Nov. 23 with a trip to the Big 5 Classic women’s championship game on the line. In the first year of this tournament, Drexel has a clear path to the championship, which will be contested Dec. 6 at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion. While it is too early to know how good each team really is in the grand scheme of the season, Temple was selected to finish eighth in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, and currently is 1-1. Still, the Owls pose a challenge, but it is one the 2-0 Dragons are eager to tackle.

“We would want to be in no other position than to get an opportunity [to go to the Big 5 championship game] when we face Temple at their place,” Mallon said. “It’s going to be a very tough game for us, but it’s right where we want to be.”