Keishana Washington reaches the 2,000-point mark in Drexel’s win over Hofstra

Keishana Washington became the second player in Drexel women’s basketball history to join the 2,000-point club in a 69-57 win over visiting Hofstra in a Colonial Athletic Association contest Friday.

Drexel (14-5, 6-2 CAA), buoyed by another dominant performance by Washington, took an early lead over the Pride (8-11, 2-6) and never surrendered it. With the win, the Dragons moved into a tie with Stony Brook for second place in the CAA.

Washington hit the historic mark with a three-point jumper with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The 5-7 guard also became the ninth player to reach 2,000 points in CAA history. The Pickering, Ontario, native is also the ninth Canadian player to score 2,000 points in Division I basketball history.

“I knew how far I was, not that I was thinking about it during the game. But I felt the energy in the gym after I made the shot, and I looked up at the score to see that I had 11 points, and I needed 11 points,” Washington said. “It’s something that I’ll definitely soak in in the coming hours. It was even better that my parents were here to see it happen.”

An in-game ceremony honoring the milestone included congratulations via video from Gabriela Mărginean, who graduated in 2010 and is the only Drexel women’s basketball player with more points (2,581) than Washington (2,013).

Washington led all scorers with 24 points. It marked her 53rd straight game scoring in double digits, which broke Mărginean’s record of 52.

“I don’t think my younger self would have thought that I would be getting this far or accomplish this much, especially coming to college,” Washington said. “I didn’t even think I was going to be a 1,000-point scorer.”

When Hofstra went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to pull within six points, Washington took over. She responded with a turnaround jumper and then drove for a layup on the next possession to quiet the visiting crowd.

Washington’s offensive production has been the story for Drexel this year, but a large part of her success is due to her teammates’ ability to get her the ball. It was no different Friday night. Fifth-year guard Maura Hendrixson put up 11 assists, including a dish to set Washington’s milestone three-pointer.

“At shootaround today, I was like, ‘Can I assist your 2,000th point?’ She was like, ‘Yeah.’ And then it actually happened,” Hendrixson said. “I didn’t even know that was her 2000th point.”

Hendrixson ranks third in the nation in assists per game, averaging 8.7. Friday marked her sixth game this season with double-digit assists.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and Drexel’s Keishana Washington rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in scoring. Here’s why.

The Dragons will finish the weekend homestand against last-place Elon (4-15, 0-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday.