HUNTINGDON, Pa. (January 8, 2012) – The Rangers nearly erased a 12-point, second half deficit this afternoon against Juniata (13-1, 3-0 Landmark) but came up short in a 63-54 loss this afternoon. Senior Danielle Barber (Cape May Court House, N.J./Middle Twp.) led the way for Drew (4-8, 1-2 Landmark) with 18 points and five assists.

With just over five minutes to play, Juniata owned a comfortable 12-point advantage before the Rangers came within four points of the nationally ranked eagles. Ashton Bankos responded to a pair of free throws by Victoria Ault (Middletown, N.J./Mater Dei) with 1:47 remaining in the game to give the Eagles a 10-point lead.

Two possessions later, Barber hit one of her three 3-pointers on the day to bring the visitors with in seven. The next time down the court sophomore Logan Cavanaugh (Rutland, Vt./Burr & Burton Academy) converted an old fashioned 3-point play to suddenly make the score 58-54 with 57 seconds remaining in the game.

Juniata responded by scoring the game's final five points and not allowing another basket by the Rangers for the remainder of the game.  The Eagles attack was led by Bankos, who had a game-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds.
Cavanaugh tied a career-high with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Ault was a force on the boards grabbing 10 rebounds and chipping in eight points.

The Rangers will be back on the hardwood next weekend for two more Landmark Conference bouts. The two-game road trip begins on Friday the Rangers will travel to Scranton followed by a matchup with the Greyhounds of Moravian on Saturday afternoon.