PHILADELPHIA — As Drexel students ran onto the court, Alexis Peterson, Brittney Sykes and Briana Day stood still. They looked straight down, hands on their knees, shocked at what had unfolded over the previous 20 seconds. SU’s players on the bench slowly filtered their way in a single-file line to shake hands. Some raised their hands over their heads stunned.

Less than 50 feet away, Drexel players were mobbed by fans. In the middle of the herd stood Meghan Creighton, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer from the corner with 9 seconds on the clock, lifting unranked Drexel (3-1) over No. 11 Syracuse (3-1), 62-61, Monday night at Daskalakis Athletic Center. The senior guard’s 23 points proved too much for SU in a game the country’s leader in forced turnovers coerced only 13 takeaways.

In a game that featured nine ties and 16 lead changes, Drexel withstood Syracuse’s full-court press, half-court traps and zone defense. Every time the Orange seemed to pull away with a run, the Dragons stayed in it. For every SU point in the paint, Drexel answered.

“They just did a really good job of staying in the game,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “When we’d go up five or six, they just made a shot. That’s how it happened.

“We had some plays to put the game away. We didn’t do that, and they did.”

For Drexel, Monday’s victory was monumental. A team that’s played in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament the last two years competed with and eventually upset a national power in Syracuse. The 2016 runner-ups got down early, 11-4, and despite several leads — including a six-point advantage with less than two minutes left — faltered late.

Creighton was a constant in the Dragons offense, flashing the kind of speed, shooting touch and court awareness that made her a member of the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, which goes to the nation’s top point guard. She shot 7-for-10 from deep, dished out three assists, grabbed five rebounds and picked up two steals along with her game-winner.

In last year’s meeting, an 83-62 Syracuse win, Day scored 26 points. On Monday, she had only eight. An SU team reliant on 3s and forced turnovers didn’t get much of either. SU hit seven triples and scored five points off of turnovers. Despite flashes of dominance, Syracuse couldn’t exit with its fourth victory.

Midway through the second quarter, Sykes stuffed a Drexel player’s shot attempt. She yelled “Get that sh*t out” and walked back to guard her opponent. But her 21 points, 13 of which came in the final 20 minutes, weren’t enough. Almost every time she and Peterson tried to push the pace, Drexel swarmed back on defense.

“We tried to get up-tempo and they didn’t let us do that,” Hillsman said, adding: “That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Before her game-winning 3, Creighton swished two free throws to cut SU’s lead to four. Two Drexel possessions later, the Dragons scored on a third-chance putback to pull within three. An illegal block by Bria Day followed, giving Drexel the basketball with 43 seconds left. Down by 3, the Dragons pulled within one on a Creighton-to-Sarah Curran pass and shot.

Down with 18 seconds left, Drexel fouled Peterson. As the senior point guard walked slowly to the free-throw line, she had an extra bounce in her step and held her head high. Peterson hit the second free throw, but missed the first. Syracuse was dismal from the foul line, shooting 8-of-18, a 44 percent clip.

The miss gave Drexel a chance to tie with a 2 or win with a 3. Despite a near-turnover, Kelsi Lidge dribbled past SU’s press then hit Creighton in the right corner to set up the winner.

“I saw Kelsi Lidge coming down the floor, (thought) she’ll drive to basket and I’m just going to spot up,” Creighton said. “And (I) just shot.”

Creighton hit the first 3 of the night 82 seconds after tipoff. Almost 40 minutes later, she hit the last to hand Syracuse its first loss since April in the national championship.

Published on November 21, 2016 at 11:20 pm

Contact Matthew: [email protected] | @MatthewGut21