The Bulldogs (16-4, 7-2 Freedom) missed three of four free throws over the final minute and the Rangers (12-8, 4-5 Freedom) converted a one-and-one opportunity with six seconds left before Antolick’s heroics. Antolick took the inbounds pass, dribbled past two Ranger defenders, pulled up from 25-feet and saw her shot bounce off the backboard, hit the front of the rim, sit on the back of the rim and finally fall threw the net as the buzzer sounded.
The second half was a back and forth affair that saw seven ties and five lead changes. Senior Jen Netwall tied the game for the fourth time at 52 with her first and only trey of the game at the 3:16 mark. Two free throws and a lay-up by each team on the next four possessions saw the game still tied with 1:53 left.
A missed trey by the Rangers gave DSU the ball as they earned a trip to the free throw line but missed both shots and the game continued to be tied. Another miss by Drew and DeSales had possession with 40 ticks left. Antolick was fouled going to the basket and went to the line for two shots. The first spun out and the second dropped thru and the Bulldogs led by one, 57-56, with 16 seconds left.
Following a timeout, sophomore Melissa Kraft seemed to fall to the ground and turn the ball over on a traveling violation but after a brief silence in the gym, a whistle was blown and a foul was called on the Bulldogs with 5.6 seconds left. Kraft knocked down both free throws to give Drew a 58-57 lead before Antolick hit the buzzer-beater to send DeSales home with the win, its fourth in a row.
In the first half, Drew jumped out to a 13-6 lead before DSU countered with a 15-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to take a 21-16 lead with 7:06 left. The Bulldogs lead swelled to eight points, 28-20, before Drew ran into the locker rooms on a 10-5 run and trailing by three points, 33-30. Antolick and sophomore Kirby Lutz combined for 23 of the Bulldogs 33 first-half points.
Antolick finished with 26 points for the second straight game. She added nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks including two big rejections over the final two minutes of the game. Lutz finished with 13 tallies and added seven rebounds and Netwall totaled nine points, seven in the second-half. Senior Holly Liebl was limited to just 11 minutes due to a back injury.
Sophomore Melissa Kraft with 17 points led Drew and Jennifer Weldon added 16 points. Maggie Marquis and Sarah Marquez each tallied eight points in the loss.