MADISON, N.J. – Sophomore guard Maddy Morgan scored a game-high 18 points and the Drew University women's basketball team cruised to its third straight victory, downing Juniata College 66-47 in a Landmark Conference affair Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Rangers, who led for all but 33 seconds, scored 20 points in each of the first two quarters while building a 40-27 halftime lead. Drew then opened the third quarter on a 15-4 run, settling any doubt.
 
Morgan, who shot 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 at the foul line, also grabbed seven rebounds and swiped four steals. Freshman guards Amy Rachilla and Miabella Diaz added 12 points and four steals, respectively, for Drew (9-12, 7-7 LC), which had 10 different players reach the scoring column.
 
Haily Sherman posted eight points and eight rebounds to pace the Eagles (3-18, 2-12 LC).
 
The Rangers, who shot 79.2% (19-24) at the foul line, now find themselves alone in fifth place in the Landmark Conference standings with four games remaining in the season. The top-six teams reach the conference playoffs.
 
It was a close game in the opening quarter, and Drew led by only one before the Rangers scored the last two buckets of the period. Senior center Gracie Hezel dropped in a layup with 42 seconds left before Morgan added a basket in the closing seconds to put her team up 20-15 heading into the second quarter.
 
Freshman guard Olivia Aliotta scored the first five points of the second period to push Drew's lead into double figures. Morgan knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a 30-16 game with 7:21 on the clock, and the Rangers led by as much as 15 before carrying their 13-point advantage into the intermission.
 
The hosts came out of the locker room clicking on all cylinders, scoring the first eight points of the second half as their lead ballooned to 21 (48-27). A lay-up from sophomore guard Maddie Beyer gave the Rangers their largest lead of the game (55-31) with 1:53 left in the third quarter before the Eagles scored the last four points of the stanza.
 
A layup from Rachilla pushed Drew's lead back to 20 with 6:59 left, and the Rangers led by at least 19 the rest of the way.
 
Drew resumes Landmark Conference action on Wednesday, when it visits Wilkes University at 7 p.m.