Drexel Storms Past Temple in Big 5 Classic Behind Freshman Molly Rullo

Villanova, Pa.—The Drexel Dragons defeated the Temple Owls 59-5 in the third place game of the Big 5 Classic on Sunday, Dec. 7, catching fire in the second half to erase an early deficit.

Freshman guard Molly Rullo scored 22 points off the bench on 8-of-9 shooting, making five of six threes and adding four rebounds and five assists. Four of those threes came in the second half as Rullo caught fire and led the comeback; the rest of the Dragons went 0-for-15 from beyond the arc.

The Owls pulled ahead 22-15 with 4:56 to play in the second quarter but didn’t make a basket from there. Drexel’s shooting didn’t fare much better, saving Temple from disaster, but Rullo made a three and a layup in the last two minutes, both off feeds from Laine McGurk (six assists), to close the gap to two points.

Temple tried unsuccessfully to establish breathing room early in the third quarter, and a pair of Rullo threes gave the Dragons their first lead of the game with 1:41 to play in the period. Junior forward Deja Evans scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half to further fuel the comeback.

The Owls struck back early in the fourth, taking the lead on two separate occasions via a Kaylah Turner three and two Khloe Miller free throws, but Drexel went ahead for good on a 9-0 run that lasted more than four minutes, giving Temple little time to respond.