MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University women's basketball concluded the regular season with a 64-44 setback to Susquehanna University in Baldwin Gym on Saturday.
 
The Rangers, however, will have a chance to avenge their loss in just three days, as the two sides will now meet in the Landmark Conference Championship tournament. The fifth-seeded Rangers will visit the fourth-seeded River Hawks in a first-round game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
 
Drew recognized its two seniors – Gracie Hezel and Jamie Struble – in a brief ceremony before the start of the game.
 
Freshman guard Olivia Aliotta led the Rangers (10-15, 8-10 LC) with 11 points while Struble finished with nine points and five rebounds. Gracie Hezel chipped in with six points for Drew while freshman guard Miabella Diaz notched five points and six rebounds.
 
Kaitlyn Lynch paced the River Hawks (17-8, 12-6 LC) with 22 points.
 
Drew led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, when it led for all but 17 seconds. The seniors scored the first six points of the period, getting four from Hezel and two from Struble, as the Rangers jumped to a 6-0 lead.
 
Susquehanna went ahead late in the quarter, but Drew scored the last three points of the quarter on an Aliotta layup and Diaz free throw to assume its two-point lead heading into the second period.
 
The River Hawks took back the lead early in the second quarter and pushed its advantage to eight midway through the stanza. But Drew closed the half on a 5-1 spurt to cut the deficit in half. Diaz converted a layup before junior guard Izzy Lalo drained a 3-pointer with 44 seconds on the clock, making it a 27-23 game at the intermission.
 
The visitors continued to pull away in the third quarter, when they outscored the Rangers 17-11. Susquehanna led by as much as 13 in the period, but Drew managed to pull within eight with 1:10 on the clock following a bucket from sophomore forward Gianna Pica. The River Hawks scored the final basket of the quarter to assume a 44-34 lead.
 
The Rangers still were within striking distance after four straight free throws from Struble made it 49-38 with 6:58 left. But Susquehanna went on a 15-6 run over a five-minute stretch to break it open.