Drexel’s season ends with 40-point loss to Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

AUSTIN, Texas — Her freshman season was over, but Drexel guard Laine McGurk was proud. Proud of what she and the Dragons accomplished, winning seven straight games, a Coastal Athletic Association title, and punching their March Madness ticket, proud of the effort her senior teammates left on the floor Friday afternoon at the Moody Center in an 82-42 loss to top-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We talk about all year, the best way to go out is to win the championship and then get an opportunity to play in a March Madness tournament,” she said. “Especially Brooke [Mullin], Hetta [Saatman], Erin Dougherty, Erin Sweeney, Jasmine [Valentine], this being their final game, it makes me so happy, and I’m so excited for them.”

The pregame strain of the Rocky theme seemed fitting for No. 16 seed Drexel’s first-round matchup. The Dragons were underdogs in myriad ways, from Texas’ size advantage to the betting line to its first- and second-round hosting rights.

But the teams had a championship pedigree in common and brought significant winning streaks into the matchup.

Only Texas’ continued.

The Longhorns (31-4) won their fifth straight and will face No. 8 Alabama on Sunday, while Drexel finished with a 19-15 record.

“Winning a championship in the CAA was just such an unbelievable experience, and the feeling was just so great,” said sophomore point guard Grace O’Neill, who scored six points. “It was great to be able to compete today in such an amazing arena. I think we’re just really excited to get to work in the offseason and, hopefully, do it again next year.”

The Longhorns started fast and rattled off nine straight points — picking off two inbounds passes along the way — before Drexel found the hoop at the 7-minute, 40-second mark of the first quarter on an Amaris Baker layup. Baker, like she had so often throughout the Coastal Athletic Association tournament, led the Dragons in scoring with 10 points. Brooke Mullin and Chloe Hodges added six each, while Hodges led Drexel with eight rebounds.

The Dragons may have been able to slow Longhorns top scorer Madison Booker (eight points, though she had 14 assists), but they had no answer for 6-foot-4 senior forward Taylor Jones, whose three-point play made it a 30-point game at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter and was part of a 16-0 run. Texas’ lead grew as high as 45 during the second half. Jones finished with 18 through three quarters, while Shaylee Gonzales hit 5-of-6 threes and finished with a game-high 21, and DeYona Gaston powered through illness to post 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Nowhere was Texas’ size advantage more evident than the offensive glass, where it had six rebounds after one period and 26 total, leading to 22 second-chance points. Overall, the Longhorns outrebounded Drexel, 51-23.

“I [grew] up playing against boys, so they’ve always been taller, physical,” Baker said. “The physicality, I’ve seen that before. I wasn’t surprised by it at all. We just fell short.”

Added coach Amy Mallon: “I think that obviously you look at the rebounding difference, that was huge today. I say that to my team, ‘Rebounding is what really wins championships,’ and in this moment we weren’t able to sustain that piece. But I think it’s something you continue just as a reminder. With the growth of our team moving forward, that that’s something we’ll continue to focus on as a group.”

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Baker cut the Dragons’ deficit to five with a quick layup to open the second quarter, but the Longhorns quickly closed passing lanes to Drexel’s leading scorer — Baker scored just four points after the first quarter. Meanwhile, the hosts used a 12-0 run following Baker’s bucket to climb to a 31-14 lead, an advantage that grew to 20 by the time the halftime horn sounded.

Texas also took advantage of Drexel’s 21 turnovers, outscoring the Dragons, 12-2, off turnovers in the first half and 28-7 overall.

The Longhorns outscored the Dragons, 34-12, in the third quarter, but freshman Laine McGurk added a burst of energy down the stretch, hitting jumpers on consecutive possessions to end Texas’ run. Mullin also added her first bucket of the game, a three-pointer with 1:51 to go.

“I think I’ve been told within my role that bringing energy is something I do well, and it’s something that I try to embrace,” McGurk said. “Moving forward, it’s something I want to build off of.”

The magical run that ended with Drexel as the lone Philadelphia representative in March Madness may have caught some by surprise, but the Dragons seem poised to carry that momentum beyond 2023-24. They look to return several key players, such as Baker, O’Neill, and McGurk, who entered Friday averaging 13.1 points a game and was the team’s fourth-leading scorer. And, with an NCAA Tournament appearance, even if it was a quick exit, Mallon has plenty of experience to draw upon for lessons — and motivation.

“This is my 20th year at Drexel, so [I’m] just proud of the growth,” said Mallon, who was an assistant for 16 seasons before assuming the reins in 2020. “We didn’t have one all-conference player this year. We did not get recognized, and to find a way to win … to me that’s what our program’s about, so I’m hoping I can use that for momentum as I go out on the recruiting trail talking about what Drexel’s about, but it just reminded me that I’m going to stay true to who we are and not really change because you start thinking about that when things aren’t going your way, and I think this team — I said [to them], ‘You just proved to me again that what we do does work.’ ”