WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 7, 2013) – The Drew University women's basketball team fell in its conference opener, 81-72 to Catholic University (4-3, 1-0 Landmark) this evening.  The Rangers drop to 5-2 on the season and 0-1 in Landmark Conference play.
 
Catholic led wire-to-wire in the contest but the Rangers were in striking distance the entire game. Four Rangers were in double figures including freshman Hannah Miller (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) who had a team-high 20 points. She is second in the Landmark Conference this season with 19.3 points per game. Sophomore Erin Howard (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) tied a career-high with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
 
Catholic's lead was never as high as seven and the Rangers notched the score up a total of three times in the first half. Miller poured in 15 of her team-high 20 points in the first frame. The first-year guard was 2-of-5 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line in 19 minutes played.
 
In the second half, Miller was out-dueled by Catholic's Melissa Errico who came off the bench to score 10 of her game-high 23 points in the final 20 minutes. She grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
 
The Cardinals began to pull away in the opening minutes thanks to a 12-4 run. Catholic took its largest lead of the game after an Errico layup at the 12:45 mark, making the scored 52-39. The Rangers did not go away quietly, much in part to Howard. The sophomore scored 14 second half points, missing only two shots. Her back-to-back layups in the 10^th minute, cut the Catholic lead to six.
 
After another Catholic surge that found the Rangers down by as much as 14, Drew made one last push and cut the Cardinal lead down to six with 1:13 to play. On the ensuing possession, Emily Grabiak nailed a three that would effectively end Drew's chances. The Cardinals knocked down five of their next seven free throws to put the game out of reach for the Rangers.

Senior Logan Cavanaugh (Rutland, Vt./Burr & Burton Academy) and Breana Wilson (Irvington, N.J./Berkshire School) each had 12 points to round out the Ranger double-digit scorers. The Cardinals held a 55-37 edge in rebounds while each team committed 16 turnovers.
 
The Rangers will be on the road on Wednesday when they travel to Arcadia for a non-conference tilt. Tip is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Glenside, Pa.