WILKES-BARRE –  The Wilkes women's basketball team celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day with an exhilarating performance against Drew University on Wednesday night inside the Marts Center. After leading for the majority of regulation, the Colonels ultimately fell to the Rangers 64-56 in the teams' final Landmark meeting of the regular season.
 
Wilkes dropped to 8-14 overall and 4-11 in conference play. With the win, Drew improved to 10-12 on the season and boosted their Landmark record to 8-7. The win also marked the Rangers head coach John Olenowski's one hundredth victory.
 
Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) quickly opened the scoring for Wilkes on their first possession of the game with a nifty layup under the basket. The Colonels would jump out to a 14-4 lead halfway through the first quarter. The strong start was punctuated by three-pointers from Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) and Taylor Simpson (Dunmore, PA/Lawrenceville School).
 
A late push by the Rangers got the team into double digits before the end of the first quarter. Wilkes held on to a 16-11 lead after ten minutes of play.
 
Drew climbed right back into the ballgame thanks to an early second-quarter bucket and three by Gianna Pica. The Rangers worked their way into a tie after a deep ball by Maddy Morgan.
 
Wilkes answered right back with a bucket from Emma Stout (Bangor, PA/Bangor) just inside the arc to reclaim the lead 22-20 with 4:19 remaining. On their next possession, Stout added to the lead with a trey on her first attempt of the game.
 
The Rangers ended the first half with a 4-0 run that brought them within one point of the Colonels, who led 25-24 after 20 minutes.
 
Wilkes shot 40.7 percent from the floor in the half while Drew shot 31.0 percent. Both teams shot similarly from behind the arc as the Colonels went 3-11 to the Rangers' 2-7. Stout and Matos shared the lead in points with five apiece while Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) and Babcock both tallied six boards through the first half.
 
Babcock started the second half of play the same way she opened in the first, sinking a driving layup at the hoop to push the lead to three points.
 
With just over four minutes left in the third, Nadia Evanosky (Dallas, PA/Dallas) got her shot inside the paint to fall to extend Wilkes' advantage to five. The sophomore would go on to throw up a last-second shot, beating the shot clock to secure another two crucial points for the Colonels.
 
With one quarter left in the contest, Wilkes held a 40-34 advantage of the Rangers.
 
As the game clock continued to tick down in the close matchup, the Colonels continued to create scoring opportunities while in transition. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Babcock threw a perfect pass down the court to Simpson, who collected two points on a shot off the glass.
 
Drew relentlessly fought to stay within striking distance of Wilkes and eventually knotted the game up at 46-46 with 4:12 remaining in regulation. Wilkes snatched the lead right back after successful shots at the line from Shober and Marino.
 
Simpson sent the Marts Center into a frenzy with a timely corner three with less than three minutes on the clock. The Rangers refused to go away in the final minutes of action and once again tied the game at 51-51.
 
With the shot clock turned off, Wilkes held control of the ball and looked to end the game with a tie-breaking bucket. Simpson couldn't get her last second shot to fall, sending both teams to a five-minute overtime period.
 
Marino took a trip to the line with her team down by a single point. The senior drained both free throws to put Wilkes back on top, 54-53.
 
Drew took over the lead with 1:01 left and didn't look back and padded their lead with free throws. The Rangers claimed victory in the contest by a score of 64-56.
 
Simpson led the Colonels with 10 points and shot 2-8 from deep. Stout was perfect from behind the arc, knocking down her only three-point attempt of the evening. Babcock and Shober were dominant on the glass, as both players hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds. Shober also recorded four blocks, giving her the most single-season blocks in program history with 71.  Meanwhile, Evanosky compiled four steals in the loss.
 
Drew saw 14 of their points come from Miabella Diaz, who shot 62.5 percent from the line while snagging six steals. Pica and Amy Rachilla both grabbed seven boards in the contest. Brenna Hezel was one of the most efficient shooters on the floor for Drew, finishing with a .750 field goal percentage.
 
The Colonels hit the road for a two-game road trip, starting on Saturday, February 10 at Elizabethtown College. Tip-off against the Blue Jays is set for 4:00 p.m.