HUNTINGDON, Pa. (Jan. 31, 2015) – Juniata College needed a season-high point output and fended off a 10-point first half deficit to edge the Drew University women's basketball team, 84-78, in a Landmark Conference contest on Saturday afternoon.
 
Four Rangers hit double-digits in the setback, led by sophomore guard Hannah Miller's 23 points. Drew's (10-10, 4-7) leading scorer netted 6-of-13 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and was perfect from the free throw line with an 8-of-8 mark. Junior forward Courtney Stephens contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Courtney Trzasko nailed five 3-pointers for her 15 points. Senior guard Breana Wilson turned in a robust stat line with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
 
In a game that saw the score tied six times, the Rangers were the first to hold an advantage as a 7-0 run gave the road team a quick 9-3 lead three minutes in. Drew would maintain the lead as solid shooting (48 percent in the first half) provided the cushion and a near-perfect 9-of-10 mark from the charity stripe helped hold it. Midway through the first period, the Rangers held a 25-15 lead after one of Trzasko's five triples.
 
Drew would go scoreless over the next two minutes, and Juniata (8-12, 6-5) took advantage with an 8-2 run to quickly erase the early advantage. The Rangers, in the meantime, were getting to the line and made all eight of the final eight free throw attempts to close out the half. But the Eagles heated up from the floor and ended up shooting 50 percent as a team during the opening 20 minutes to cut the Rangers' lead to 41-40 heading into half. Juniata felt the momentum shift in its favor after hitting a buzzer-beater before the first half horn.
 
The Rangers were sharp coming out of the intermission as Miller opened the second half scoring with a jumper for the 43-40 lead. Drew followed that with a solid defensive stand, which ended with a rebound by Wilson, who went coast-to-coast to feed Trzasko for an open three and a six-point lead.
 
The Eagles again responded quickly, with a 6-0 run to tie the score at 46-46. Over the next four minutes of back-and-forth action, as soon as one team would go up by two points, the opposing team would respond to tie the game on the very next possession. When Juniata took its first lead since early in the first half, 53-50, with 14:24 to play on a three-pointer, Miller provided the answer with a trey of her own to knot the score for the fourth time.
 
From there, a Juniata 6-0 run put the home team ahead 59-53, but the run was halted as Miller made Drew's 11^th and 12^th consecutive free throws. Stephens then personally went head-to-head against the Eagles on the scoreboard, countering two straight Juniata buckets with some offense of her own, the second of which turned into an old-fashioned three-point play after picking up the foul on a good layup to cut the Eagles' lead to 63-62 with 7:47 to play.
 
The seesaw continued to rock as the Landmark foes entered the final stretch. As soon as Juniata would sniff a lead, Drew would nail a basket and tie it up. A Trzasko three-pointer made it 65-65 with 6:45 remaining and a layup by Miller knotted the game at 67-67, the sixth and final tie with 4:24 to go. Finally, the Eagles were able to pull away at the most opportune time with a 7-0 run to take a 74-67 lead with 2:14 left on the clock.
 
Wilson, Miller and Trzasko would provide the buckets needed for the comeback during the final two minutes, but Juniata executed some solid free throw shooting of its own to hold on for the conference victory.
 
Juniata won the battles down low on Saturday with a 41-35 rebounding edge and a victory in paint points, 34-30. The Eagles also scored an advantage by converting 13 Drew turnovers into 14 points, while the Rangers were only able to scratch 10 points off 16 Eagles turnovers.
 
The Rangers remain on the road as Landmark play resumes on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at The United States Merchant Marine Academy at 7:00 p.m.