MADISON, NJ – Cara Basile (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) and Ashley Caster (York, PA/Spring Grove) combined for 30 of Wilkes University's 59 points to lead the visiting Lady Colonels to a five point win over host Drew University Tuesday night at the Baldwin Gymnasium.
 
Wilkes picks up its first win of the 2015-16 season and improves to 1-3 overall. Drew falls to 2-2 overall on the year following the home non-conference defeat.
 
Trailing 30-23 at the half, Wilkes stormed out of the locker room and outscored Drew 19-9 over the third quarter to take a 42-39 lead heading into the final frame of play.
 
From there Caster scored two straight buckets followed by a layup from Basile to give Wilkes a 48-40 lead with seven minutes to play. A transition score from Chelsea Smelas (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe) pushed the advantage to nine before an 8-0 Drew run cut the deficit to just one setting up the final few possessions of the contest.
 
With the game tied at 51, Caster converted two straight scores and Basile added a third following a Drew miss as Wilkes led 57-51 with :48 remaining. After Drew hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 57-54 with :39, Caster missed a jump shot giving the ball back to the hosts with a chance to tie. Drew got two looks at three-pointers in its final possession, but both shots were off the mark and Emily Sofranko (Jim Thorpe, PA/Marian Catholic) corralled the final rebound before nailing two free throws with seconds remaining to ice the victory for Wilkes.
 
Caster enjoyed the finest outing of her young career finishing with a team-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The rookie added six rebounds and three steals. Basile followed with 13 points and six rebounds. Wilkes shot a season-high 40.3 percent from the floor (25-62) and 50 percent from behind the arc (3-6) in the game.
 
Sam Lane led Drew with nine points as the Rangers struggled shooting from the floor the entire game finishing at just 32 percent (16-50) thanks to the aggressive Wilkes defense.
 
Wilkes returns to action after the Thanksgiving holiday next Monday traveling to Scranton, Pa. to face Marywood University at 7:00 p.m.