Drew women's basketball used a 10-2 run late in the game to win its Landmark Conference opener over USMMA, 77-71.  In a game that saw ten lead changes and 16 tied scores, the Rangers were able to improve to 6-0 thanks to an outstanding team effort.  Danielle Barber led the Rangers with 21 points while Rebecca Grims had 20 for the Mariners (2-3).  Rebecca Smith had 12 big points off the bench for Drew and Brenda Kramer added nine in her Ranger debut.

In a first half full of runs, the Rangers went into the break up by two, 33-31.  The Mariners opened the game with a 6-0 run capped by Kiersten Healy's jumper.  Drew eventually tied the game up at 12-12 on Kat Luby's free throw at 13:13.  The sophomore recorded steals on two consecutive possessions that resulted in a fast break layup and that foul shot for Luby.

By the eight-minute mark, the Rangers had clawed their way to a five point lead, 21-16, before a 9-4 stretch gave Drew a 30-20 edge.  The Rangers maintained that ten point lead through the two-minute mark when Kramer's two foul shots put Drew up 33-23.  The Mariners finished the half with an 8-0 run to make it 33-31.

The second half was an even better contest.  Of the first 21 baskets scored in the half, 20 of them either tied the game or gave one side the lead.  In one particularly exciting stretch, Grimes tied the game before Barber setup Britta Olsen for a two-point lead for Drew.  Back at the other end Grimes jumper knotted the scored again.  Two unfruitful possessions later, Barber knocked down a jumper to give Drew the lead only to see Janay Weathers tied it up twenty seconds later.  Right off the in bound, Barber got the Rangers running and Drew was up by two again on her driving layup.  Roshenda Josephs hit a pair of free throws for the Mariners on the next possession to tie it up once again.  For the first time in the second half, USMMA took the lead as a turnover by Drew led to a Healy jumper.  This time Drew played spoiler with Eden Blazovic converting Jessica DelVecchio's feed for the 41-41 tie just four minutes after Grimes' first basket of the stretch.

With five minutes left, the game was still tied, thanks in large part to Rebecca Smith's clutch free throw shooting.  At the 4:10 mark, Brenda Kramer made the first of what could be a large number of big plays in her Ranger career.  The first-year guard, fresh off an injury rehab, drilled a three to five Drew a 67-64 lead.  

Back at the other end, Brooke Picillo hit a pair of free throws for USMMA to make it 67-66.  Once again, Kramer came up with a big hoop, and again it was off DelVecchio's assist.  Though she missed the back end of the and-one, Kramer's bucket restored Drew's three-point lead with 3:33 left.  

After both sides missed three point attempts, DelVecchio grabbed a key defensive rebound off Grimes' miss to set up a critical possession for the Rangers.  JDV's quick outlet led to Kramer finding Luby for a fastbreak layup and a five-point lead.

Luby took over as the Ranger's playmaker for a bit to help seal the win.  After a missed jumper by the Mariners, Luby found Smith in the paint for a layup to give Drew a seven-point edge with 1:39 remaining.  Back at the other end, Luby came up with a steal that led to a pair of free throws for Smith.  Though she hit just one of two, Smith gave Drew an eight-point lead.  

Grimes hit a three for USMMA with 47 seconds left, but Drew had the game in hand by then.  Barber hit a free throw and then found Luby on the break for a late layup as Drew picked up a big Landmark road win.

For fans of the Rangers over the past few seasons, the keys to the win were ones not often noted.  Drew's bench outscored the Mariners' 25-18 and the Rangers won the battle in the paint 42-30.  Smith was a critical part of each of those advantages.  The first-year forward had 12 points, nine in the second half.

The Rangers had a number of contributors in the game.  Barber had 21 points, six assists and three rebounds in 38 minutes of play.  Luby, whose late game heroics helped secure the win, had 11 points and four steals.  DelVechchio finished with 12 points and four assists.  Off the bench, Kramer and Smith did the most damage with nine and 12 points, respectively.  Blazovic added six points and six boards for Drew.

The Mariners got most of their production from Grimes and Weathers.  Of Grimes' 20 points, 16 came in the second half.  Weathers had 16 rebounds to go with her 12 points.

At 6-0, the Rangers matches the best start in the program's history, set last season.  Drew has a few more games before the turn of the calendar with a trip to Staten Island on Wednesday the next contest.  

Newspaper Box Score
DREW vs USMMA
12/5/09 2:00 pm at Kings Point, NY
At Kings Point, NY
DREW 77, USMMA 71
DREW (6-0, 1-0 LC)
Danielle Barber 9-17 2-4 21; Rebecca Smith 2-3 8-11 12; Jessica DelVecchio
5-11 0-0 12; Katherine Luby 5-10 1-2 11; Brenda Kramer 3-4 2-3 9; Eden
Blazovic 3-5 0-1 6; Britta Olsen 1-2 0-0 2; Jessica Reid 1-3 0-0 2; Jen
Mateo 0-3 2-4 2; Ashley Logan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 15-25 77.
USMMA (2-3, 0-1 LC)
Rebecca Grimes 8-15 2-2 20; Janay Weathers 6-15 0-0 12; Kiersten Healy 5-12
0-0 10; Olivia Norris 3-7 2-3 8; Brooke Picillo 1-4 5-6 7; Alicen Heinrich
3-6 0-0 6; Tamara Kaileh 2-5 0-0 4; Roshenda Josephs 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 29-66
11-13 71.
DREW..........................   33   44  -   77
USMMA.........................   31   40  -   71
3-point goals--DREW 4-18 (Jessica DelVecchio 2-5; Brenda Kramer 1-2;
Danielle Barber 1-6; Jen Mateo 0-1; Ashley Logan 0-1; Katherine Luby 0-3),
USMMA 2-9 (Rebecca Grimes 2-6; Kiersten Healy 0-1; Olivia Norris 0-1; Brooke
Picillo 0-1). Fouled out--DREW-None, USMMA-None. Rebounds--DREW 34 (Eden
Blazovic 6), USMMA 41 (Janay Weathers 16). Assists--DREW 17 (Danielle Barber
6), USMMA 16 (Janay Weathers 4; Kiersten Healy 4). Total fouls--DREW 18,
USMMA 23. Technical fouls--DREW-None, USMMA-None.