MADISON, N.J. (December 5, 2015) – Senior forward
Courtney Stephens tore down a career-high 16 rebounds and led the Drew University women's basketball team (4-2, 2-0) to its second Landmark Conference victory of the season, 68-50, over Goucher College (4-3, 0-2) on Saturday afternoon at Baldwin Gymnasium.
In addition to her momentous day on the boards, Stephens matched a season-high with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Stephens shooting percentage now stands at 57-percent, good for fourth in the conference. Sophomore forward
Ally Raulf dished a career-high five assists on the afternoon, four of which found Stephens under the basket. Junior forward
Sam Lane pitched in 16 points, 12 of which came from 3-point range.
The Rangers were relentless in the early going, as they refused to let Goucher get close. Keeping the distance, for the most part, were Lane and Stephens. Stephens drained 10 points worth of buckets in the first half on an economical five-of-six from the field. Stephens did both her scoring and rebounding in close to the rim. She tore down eight rebounds in the half, as well.
Conversely, Lane made her contributions from outside, draining three 3-pointers in the half and providing a nice compliment to Stephens from the forward position.
Drew held a 33-23 lead at the half.
The Gophers came out of the break hot, going on a 6-0 run to bring the score to 35-31 with five minutes to go in the third period. Stephens put a stop to the Gopher rally when she cut past her defender on the baseline and converted a feed from Raulf into a layup.
A 37-35 Drew lead became a 46-35 lead in a three-minute span thanks to junior forward
Courtney Trzasko. She drained three consecutive 3-pointers and went on a 9-0 run on her own. Trzasko's explosion took the Rangers into the fourth period up 9. Drew soon attained a double-digit lead that held for the remainder of the contest.
Drew shot at 43-percent and held the Gophers to a 33-percent clip. The Rangers assisted on 18 buckets to Goucher's nine. They also capitalized on the turnover, scoring 19 points on 13 turnovers.
The Rangers season rolls on as they host FDU-Florham on Tuesday, Dec. 8 in the Battle of Madison Avenue. The non-conference tilt is slated for a 6:00 p.m. tip.
