Drexel Women's Hoops Surging In CAA Play

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Drexel University women's basketball team is on a roll these days.

The Dragons picked up their fifth straight win on Sunday, holding off rival Delaware at the DAC, 47-43. The victory improved Drexel to 11-9 overall and they are now 7-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. That's good for a tie for second in the league, a half-game behind first place James Madison.

This winning streak started on January 17th with a blowout, 74-31 win over Elon. But since then the Dragons have really had to earn it. The last four wins have come by a total of 12 points.

"We're learning that the game is a game of possessions," Drexel head coach Denise Dillon tells KYW Newsradio. "We talk about it at practice. We've been in the situation enough to see that it's reality. And we have talked about it during the game. Just telling the players, 'Just keep grinding it out on the defensive possessions, try and get the stops.'"

Listen to the entire interview with Drexel's Denise Dillon:

The Dragons are also getting big plays from junior forward Sarah Curran. The Archbishop Carroll product leads the team in scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg) and has become a force in games down the stretch.

"It's amazing," Dillon says. "You go through these games and the team is so focused on pressuring her, taking her out of her flow on the offensive end and she just finds a way. She has been shooting the ball well from the perimeter, but when it comes down to it, last possession of games, she gets it around the basket. In the Hofstra game (on Friday), finishes and gets fouled and then (Sunday) in the Delaware game for us to secure the win, a nice play around the basket as well. She gives you the look, you know, she's like, 'I'm ready,' you call her number and she's come up really big for us."

Drexel's next two games will be on the road. On Friday they visit UNC-Wilmington before visiting the College of Charleston on Sunday.

"It is a big weekend ahead for us," Dillon says. "A team we're not too familiar with in UNCW. We've got to watch some film and figure out what they're about, what they do, and it's a hard place to play. And then Charleston was a game we played, our first CAA game (66-54 win on 1/3), so just getting reintroduced and understanding what they're going to show in Sunday's game. So it would be nice to hit the road and come back with a couple wins."

Drexel's game with UNCW on Friday night tips off at 7:00pm.