MADISON, N.J. - The Rangers held Catholic to 12 first-half points, but the Cardinals rallied in the second half and handed Drew a 66-56 setback in Landmark Conference (LC) women's basketball action Wednesday evening in Baldwin Gym.
In a big defensive first half, Drew (3-2, 3-2 LC) limited the Cardinals to 19.4 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers while building a 26-12 lead.
The visitors found their offense in the second half, however, outscoring the Rangers 54-30.
Junior guard
Sekya Campbell led the Rangers with her second double-double of the season, posting 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward
Erin Frederick added 12 points and nine boards while sophomore guard
Joey Meyers also scored a dozen points.
Rachel Bussanich posted 24 points and seven rebounds for Catholic (6-2, 6-2 LC), which concluded its Landmark Conference regular-season schedule. Amelia Baldo added 10 points, five assists, and eight steals.
Drew never trailed in the first half and outscored the Cardinals 14-2 to open the game. The Rangers held Catholic scoreless for an eight-minute stretch before Baldo hit a jumper with nine seconds left to make it 14-4 at the end of the first quarter. Drew blanked the Cardinals over the final six minutes of the second quarter to assume their 14-point halftime advantage.
The Rangers pushed their lead to as much as 18 on two occasions, the last time coming on a lay-up from Frederick with 7:59 left in the third quarter. But Catholic used a 13-3 run to climb back into and trailed just 42-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
The visitors took their first lead of the game with 6:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, and it was part of a 14-4 run that saw the Cardinals go up by six (56-50) with 3:50 remaining. The Rangers trailed by only four after a Frederick lay-up with 3:44 left, but Amanda Johnson hit a bucket to put the Cardinals up 58-52. It was still a six-point game after a pair of free throws from senior guard
Julia Ramos with 1:30 left, but Sammie McCarter answered with a big 3-pointer for the Cardinals. Drew was unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way.
The Rangers continue their six-day, four-game stretch on Friday, when they host Moravian College at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference affair.