MADISON, N.J. - The Drew University women's basketball team pulled away early in the fourth quarter and defeated SUNY Plattsburgh 66-59 in the Rangers' home opener and the first round of the Larry Horner C'40 Rose City Classic Friday evening in Baldwin Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Rangers (2-1) advance to the tournament championship game to face Lycoming College, a 67-56 winner over Bates College in the other first-round game. The title tilt is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday while Plattsburgh and Bates will face off in the consolation game at noon.
Junior center
Erin Frederick led the Rangers with 22 points - just one shy of her career-high - to go with eight rebounds and four assists. She scored 16 of her points in the opening half, when she was a near-perfect 7-for-8 from the field. Junior guard
Julia Ramos also enjoyed a big game, scoring 18 points - including 16 in the second half - on 4-of-8 3-point shooting. She also dished out four assists.
Freshman guard
Gwen Alberici also reached double figures for the Rangers with 10 points to go with six rebounds and three steals while freshman guard
Joey Meyers contributed nine points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward
Cecelia Kracht turned in a big defensive performance with career-highs of eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
The win marked career victory No. 199 for Drew head coach
John Olenowski.
The Rangers led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and scored the first four points of the second quarter to open up an eight-point advantage. But the Cardinals (0-1) closed the opening half on a 10-2 run and carried a 29-26 lead into the locker room after Theresa Quinn knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Drew seemed to be pulling away again in the third quarter, pushing their lead to seven (39-32) with 2:42 on the clock. But Plattsburgh rallied again and tied the game at 42-all with a put-back just before the horn.
The Rangers pulled away for good with a 12-2 run early in the final stanza. Ramos bookended the spurt with a pair of 3-pointers that made it 61-49 with 3:54 remaining, and the Cardinals were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way
Drew shot 40.8% from the floor for the game, including 63.6% (7-for-11) in the fourth quarter. THe Rangers held Plattsburgh to 30.7% shooting.
