Women's Basketball

Drew University 68, Delaware Valley 55

MADISON (NJ) -- Drew University opened up leads of 11-0 and 22-2 as the Rangers downed visiting Delaware Valley College, 68-55 in a Freedom Conference game.

The loss dropped the Aggies to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Freedom Conference, but they remain 1½ games ahead of both Drew (10-9, 4-6) and Lycoming (12-9, 4-6) for the fourth and final conference playoff spot with three games remaining. A postseason berth would be the fourth in a row for Delaware Valley and the fifth in the last six seasons. The loss also spoiled head coach Laura Hogan's first attempt at her 100th career victory.

Drew, on six points by Lauren Aliano, led 11-0 after the first four minutes of the contest. The Rangers then extended the advantage to 22-2 at the 11:00 mark and still held a 17-point lead, 36-19, at halftime. Delaware Valley never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Jackie Hartzell, who was named to the conference honor roll for her performances last week, led all scorers with 19 points, including a 4-for-9 effort from 3-point land. She also moved into sixth place on the Aggies' all-time list with 73 treys. Kate McCarthy added 12 points and four steals while Rachel Joyce had 11 points, five rebounds and three steals in the loss.

Aliano paced Drew with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Melissa Kraft notched 16 points while Courtney Cunningham and Jennifer Weldon added 13 and 12 points respectively.