With the game tied at 6-6 after four minutes of play, the Rangers pulled out ahead with a quick 8-0 run on four points from Cunningham and lay-ups from Kraft and Methvin. The Warriors brought the lead back down to four with ten minutes to play on a Jessica Zerbee jumper, but Methvin’s hoop three minutes later got Drew back to 24-16. Allison Hartnett started Drew’s next run with a basket from a Marquis assist to make it 27-18. Cunningham scored the game’s next four points and Drew was up by 13. Renee Freeden pulled back a basket for Lyco, but Cunningham drilled a long three off an inbound play as time ran out for a 35-21 halftime advantage.
After a Cunningham three to open the half, Lycoming scored the next four points to cut the lead to 38-27. The Warriors would get no closer as Kraft buried a three and followed with a lay-up off of a Hartnett pass. Genie Valantassis had the next hoop, again from Hartnett and Marquis tallied next again from the helpful Hartnett. With under ten minutes to play, JaQuelia Conley, who had another solid performance today, started the next run with a bucket. Kraft hit a jumper before Methvin scored twice and Marquis added a three-ball for a 66-37 lead. The Rangers finished the game on cruise control to finish at 70-45.
Kraft finished with 18 points on the day and became just the third Drew player to score 1,500 career points joining Emma Bascom (1,567) and Leslie Rushton (1,998). Cunningham had 14 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Marquis had 11 points and four rebounds and assists. Laura Methvin, whom Head Coach Karin Harvey had been tipping for a big game as of late, finished with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting and 10 rebounds, she also helped hold Lyco’s leading scorer Andrea Cooper to just four points. Conley had eight points while Hartnett had just four points, but three boards, three steals and three assists.
Drew has now won six straight games against Lycoming over the past three seasons. The Rangers evened their record at 10-10, 5-5 in the Freedom Conference. On Wednesday night they travel to Delaware Valley to face the Aggies with whom they are tied for fourth place. The Aggies won in Madison, giving them the tiebreaker, but if Drew were to win, the thrilling win over second place DeSales would give the Rangers the tie breaker as they head down the stretch. Drew will travel to play Montclair State on Monday prior to the key DVC tussle.