TOWSON, Md. – The Drew University women's basketball team held Goucher College to 29.7% shooting, but the host Gophers hit the game-winning shot with 35 seconds left to edge the Rangers 58-56 in a Landmark Conference tilt Saturday afternoon.
 
Goucher trailed by 10 at halftime and six heading into the fourth quarter, but ended the game on an 8-2 run.
 
The Rangers (10-7, 5-5 LC) limited an opponent to sub-30% shooting for the second time this season and held a team to under 60 points for the seventh time this year.
 
Junior center Brenna Hezel posted a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting to pace Drew. She also posted eight rebounds, three steals, three assists, and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Junior forward Gianna Pica contributed 10 points and six rebounds for the Rangers while sophomore guard Miabella Diaz grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Olivia Aliotta added eight points while classmate Amy Rachilla notched seven points and four assists.
 
Amira Whitaker paced Goucher (12-5, 5-5 LC) with 12 points and hit the game-winning shot for the Gophers.
 
A jumper from Diaz put the Rangers up 54-50 with 4:20 remaining, but neither side scored again until Maiya Villanueva connected on a 3-pointer with 2:45 left to pull Goucher to within one. Merci Turner then banked in a triple to put the Gophers in front 56-54 with 2:21 to go.
 
Pica tied it up with a put-back at the 1:40 mark, and the Rangers came up with a defensive stop at the other end. But after the two sides traded turnovers, Drew missed a pair of free throws with 1:10 left. The Gophers rebounded the second miss before Whitaker banked in a short jumper in the paint.
 
The Rangers were then whistled for a shot-clock violation, handing the Gophers the ball with 6.4 seconds left. But after a quick foul, Drew forced a jump ball and was awarded possession with just 0.5 seconds to go. After a timeout, the ball was advanced to the frontcourt and an inbound pass went to Pica, but a rushed turnaround shot did not draw iron.
 
Drew never trailed in the first quarter after scoring the first four points of the game. The Rangers eventually led by as much as eight (14-6) and carried a 16-12 lead into the second quarter.
 
Goucher led briefly midway through the second quarter but Drew ended the period on a 13-3 run. Diaz nailed a 3-pointer before Rachilla converted a fastbreak layup with nine ticks showing to give the Rangers a 31-21 halftime lead.
 
A Pica lay-up gave the Rangers their largest lead of the game (35-23) with 6:21 left in the third quarter. Goucher rallied to make it a three-point game, but an 8-2 Drew spurt put the lead back at nine with 13 seconds to go in the quarter. But Villanueva drained a 3 with four seconds left to pull the Gophers to within 47-41 after three quarters of play.
 
Goucher came all the way back to take the lead again after starting the final period on a 9-0 run that made it 50-47 with 6:37 remaining. But the Rangers scored the next five points on a 3-poiter from junior guard Maddie Beyer and Diaz' late jumper, setting up the tight finish.
 
The Rangers return to Landmark Conference action on Wednesday, when they host No. 2-ranked University of Scranton at 7 p.m.