RADNOR, Pa - Junior guard
Julia Ramos scored her 1,000th career point and the Drew University women's basketball team used another big fourth quarter to reach the final of the ECAC Championship with a 78-69 victory over Rensselaer Institute of Technology Saturday evening at Cabrini University.
The seventh-seeded Rangers (18-9) erupted for 28 points in the final period, when they also held RPI scoreless for over three minutes late in the quarter. Drew will now face tournament host and top-seeded Cabrini on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Rangers will be making their second appearance in an ECAC final, joining the 2003-04 squad that won the ECAC Metro Region title.
Drew has now won two more games than any team in program history.
Junior center
Erin Frederick led the Rangers in the scoring column, tying her career-high with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Freshman guard
Joey Meyers posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and four steals while sophomore guard
Sekya Campbell notched 12 points and seven boards. Ramos registered 10 points, six steals, and four assists while sophomore forward
Cecelia Kracht pitched in with eight points and six rebounds.
RPI (18-11) was led by Sam Krumbhaar (18 points, four steals) and Celia Tomlinson (17 points, 10 rebounds).
The Rangers forced 24 turnovers, which they converted into 31 points. Drew out-rebounded the Engineers 50-36.
It was just the second-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball after RPI claimed the inaugural match-up in 2015.
Sunday's final will mark the first-ever meeting between Drew and Cabrini in women's basketball.
Ramos became the 12th 1,000-point scorer in team history. Needing just four points to reach the milestone, she knocked down a jumper in the paint with 8:51 to go in the second quarter to become the first Ranger to achieve the feat since Hannah Miller C'17 in 2016.
Drew fell behind 11-4 early, but the Rangers stormed back with a 12-1 run and led 18-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The Rangers led by five (29-24) midway through the second quarter after a 3-pointer from sophomore guard
Brooke Timinski, but RPI answered with a 9-0 run. But Drew scored the last five points of the half on a 3-pointer from Meyers and a bucket from Frederick to take a 34-33 lead at the half.
The Engineers scored the first basket of the second half, but Meyers answered with a 3-pointer to give Drew a lead it would not relinquish. Meyers dropped in a lay-up up to put the Rangers up by eight (49-41) with 2:30 left in the third quarter, but RPI ended the period on a 6-1 spurt to make it a three-point game (50-47) heading into the final stanza.
RPI trailed by only five (60-55) with 6:32 remaining, but that's when Drew dug in defensively. The Rangers did not allow another point until the 3:19 mark. In the meantime, freshman center
Kaitlin McGrotty completed a conventional 3-point play while Ramos knocked down a pair of free throws to hand Drew a 10-point lead with 5:06 to go.
Frederick converted a lay-up with 2:07 left to push the Rangers' lead to 12 (69-57). From there, Drew salted its victory at the foul line, making seven of its next eight free throws. For the quarter, Drew shot 16-of-19 at the charity stripe.