AMHERST, Mass. (Dec. 29, 2014) – The Drew University women's basketball team fell in the penultimate game of 2014 at No. 4 Amherst College, 67-50, on Monday evening in the opening contest of the Amherst Holiday Tournament. The nationally ranked Lord Jeffs extended their NCAA women's basketball record home winning streak to 103 games.
 
Sophomore guard Hannah Miller led the Rangers with a team-high 15 points, doing most of her damage with a 9-of-10 mark from the free throw line. Junior forward Courtney Stephens added nine points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Breana Wilson passed out five assists and grabbed five boards.
 
The Rangers (6-3) battled toe-to-toe with the Lord Jeffs (8-0) during a defensively fueled first half. Amherst was first on the board at the 17:14 mark with its first bucket, while Drew's first points came on a pair of free throws by Wilson at 16:09.
 
The following seven minutes featured back-and-forth basketball with four lead changes. Stephens sparked the Rangers with four points as Drew led 10-9 midway through the first half. However, a 16-3 Jeffs run over the next five minutes would provide the home side with their first double-digit lead at 25-13 with five minutes to play in the first half.
 
Amherst followed with a 7-0 run to take a comfortable 32-13 lead, but Drew chipped away with a 9-2 scoring run of its own to set the halftime score at 34-22. Stephens led seven Drew scorers with seven points at the break and added five first-half rebounds. Sophomore forward Ryan Jackson and freshman guard Michaela Keegan each netted four points during the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Jeffs held Drew to a .333 shooting percentage in the first half while Amherst heated up from long range to take control of the contest and posted a 5-of-10 mark from beyond the arc.
 
The second half began again with Drew matching the nationally ranked Jeffs on both ends of the court. Amherst's lead stretched slightly to 42-27, but Keegan converted a three-point play after being fouled on a made 15-foot jump shot to draw the Rangers a little closer. A quick 5-1 run by the Rangers cut the advantage to 43-33, but a baseline three and an old-fashioned three-point play ballooned the Amherst lead to 49-33 with 9:30 to play.
 
Drew's shooting percentage dropped to .292 by game's end, but kept up the defensive intensity by holding Amherst to 1-of-9 shooting from three-point range in the second half. The Jeffs finished shooting 40 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Rangers 45-32.
 
The Rangers will play the final game of 2014 on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at noon against SUNY Canton to conclude the Amherst Holiday Tournament.