Box Score The Drew University women's basketball team earned a 55-45 win over Colby College in the opening round of the 2014 Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic on Tuesday in Blake Arena.

Drew advances to the championship game to take on host Springfield on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. Colby will play against Maine Maritime at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation game.

Drew was led by freshman Hannah Miller (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) with a team-high 14 points. Sophomore Erin Howard (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) added 11 points and five rebounds.

Colby's Desi Smith had a double-double with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brooke Chandor (Barrington, Ill.) also scored in double-digit figures with 10 points.

Drew improves to 7-2 on the season with the win while Colby drops its sixth-straight to a record of 3-7 on the year.

Colby scored six unanswered points to start the game, until Drew's Courtney Stephens (Pikesville, Md./Gerstell Academy) got the Rangers on the board with a basket in the paint, four minutes in.

With 11 minutes left in the first, Colby jumped out to a 12-7 lead on a basket by Jen Nale (Waterville, Maine). The Mules pushed the lead to nine points (20-11) with six minutes left in the half, but Drew put together an 8-0 run to make it a one-point game. Chandor ended Colby's three minutes scoreless drought to give the Mules a 22-19 lead with 3:24 left in the first.

Drew finally took its first lead of the game, 23-22, on a basket by Brianna Reich (Sea Bright, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) with just 1:40 left in the first, but it wouldn't last long. Colby finished out the half with two free throws by Mia Diplock and a layup from Smith to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room.

Miller opened up the second half with a three-pointer for Drew, taking back the lead, 27-26. Miller knocked down a jumper on the next possession to take a three-point lead.

Miller had a big second half, knocking down a huge three-pointer with 9:05 left in the game for a 44-37 lead and Howard scored on the next possession to give the Rangers a 46-37 lead, their largest of the game.

Drew shot 21-of-59 (35.6%) from the field, 3-of-12 (25%) from three and 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the foul line. The Rangers scored 23 of their points off turnovers.

Colby shot 17-of-57 (29.8%) from the field, 2-of-18 (11.1%) from behind the arc and 9-of-15 (60%) from the foul line.

Game recap courtesy of Springfield Athletic Communications