LANCASTER, Pa. – The Drew University women's basketball team battled Franklin & Marshall College in a tight back-and-forth game, but the Diplomats rallied late to edge the Rangers 67-62 in a non-conference tilt Saturday afternoon.
 
The Rangers (2-1) held a four-point lead with over four minutes remaining before F&M (3-0) closed the game on an 11-2 run.
 
All 10 Rangers who entered the game scored a point, including junior guard Olivia Aliotta, who led Drew with 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Gianna Pica tallied 10 points while junior guard Amy Rachilla contributed seven points and five assists.
 
Lizzie Neville scored 22 points to lead the Diplomats.
 
Franklin & Marshall opened the game on an 11-2 run and maintained at least a seven-point lead over the remainder of the quarter before carrying a 17-10 lead into the second period.
 
The Diplomats pushed their lead to 11 early in the second quarter before Drew caught fire, using a 10-0 run to make it a one-point game (25-24). Senior center Brenna Hezel started the surge with a layup before senior guard Maddie Beyer and Pica each nailed a 3-pointer. Freshman forward Molly Chapman capped the run with a pair of free throws at the 5:04 mark.
 
The Rangers pulled to within a single point on three more occasions, the last coming on a jumper from sophomore guard Jocelyn Kingsley with five seconds left and F&M led just 33-32 at the intermission.
 
Drew took its first lead of the day when Rachilla completed an and-1 layup just 12 seconds into the second half. The Rangers pushed their advantage to seven (49-42) with 3:29 left in the period following a 9-2 run, capped by a jumper from Rachilla. But the Dips ended the quarter on an 8-0 spurt and led 50-49 heading into the final period.
 
The Rangers outscored F&M 9-4 to start the fourth quarter, and a 3-pointer from Pica made it 58-54 with 5:19 remaining. A layup from Aliotta with 4:18 left gave Drew a 60-56 lead before the hosts embarked on their rally. The Diplomats took the lead for good on a pair of foul shots from Kayla McCrea with 1:40 to go before a layup from Fiona Reckner made it 65-62 with 1:00 left. Neville scored the final points of the game on a layup with 17 ticks showing.
 
Drew plays its Landmark Conference opener on Wednesday, when it hosts No. 2-ranked University of Scranton at 7 p.m.