MADISON, N.J. (Jan. 7, 2016) – On senior forward
Courtney Stephens' homecoming after becoming the 10
th member of the Drew University women's basketball 1,000 Point Club on Saturday, the co-captain notched her 17
th career double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 55-44 loss to Moravian College in Landmark Conference action on Thursday evening in Baldwin Gymnasium.
Stephens shot 7-of-15 from the field and stuffed a well-rounded stat sheet with six offensive rebounds, eight free throws, two assists, two steals and a block. The Rangers (6-8, 3-2) received eight points and six rebounds from junior
Sam Lane, but could not overcome the Greyhounds (11-2, 4-0), who led this contest just short of coast-to-coast.
The Landmark rivals traded buckets throughout the first quarter before Moravian ultimately took a 13-12 lead. A personal 5-0 run from Lane gave the Rangers a 7-5 lead, and two minutes later, sophomore
Michaela Keegan stretched the lead back to two with two makes from the free throw line. Drew's last lead of the game would come at 12-11 with one minute to play in the opening period when sophomore
Ally Raulf converted a layup after an inside feed from Stephens.
Moravian used a 9-2 run to start to build its lead. Drew's shooting cooled off down the stretch of the first half as the Greyhounds took its first double-digit lead at 28-17 before finishing the half on a 10-3 run to take a 34-20 advantage into the intermission.
Stephens remained consistent in the second half, converting her chances near the basket, drawing fouls and grabbing offensive boards. The Rangers also tightened up defensively as Moravian's field goal percentage dipped to 33% by game's end. The Greyhounds, however, were able to maintain and increase their lead due to equally dominating defense and a rebounding advantage that grew to 50-41 by the end of the contest.
Moravian also received a big boost on the defensive end thanks to 10 blocks, helping maintain its top 15 ranking nationally in the statistic. Drew managed three blocks of its own with two from junior forward
Ryan Jackson, who also finished with seven rebounds in just 17 injury-shortened minutes, in addition to Stephens' one blocked shot.
The Rangers continue Landmark Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 4:00 p.m. at The Catholic University of America.
