(Posted January 23, 2010)

MADISON, N.J. -- Juniata College's dominance on the boards overcame a sub-par shooting effort as the Eagle women's basketball team completed a two-game Landmark Conference road trip with a 60-53 win over Drew University, Saturday afternoon at Baldwin Gymnasium.

Juniata (10-8, 4-3) hauled in 49 rebounds to Drew's 26, including a 21-6 advantage on the offensive glass. The Eagles turned those 21 offensive boards into 18 points.

The Eagles needed those second shots as they shot 30.9 percent (21-of-68) from the floor - their lowest single game shooting performance of the season - including a 10-of-39 mark (25.6 percent) in the second half. The Rangers fared no better on their home court, hitting at a 34.5 percent clip (19-of-55) on 13 fewer field goal attempts.

Juniata outscored Drew 11-3 over the last five minutes of the game - including a 7-0 run over the final 90-plus seconds - to clinch the win. The Eagles were 5-of-6 at the free-throw line during that last minute-and-a-half, with junior forward Jen Hnatuck (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) jump-starting the run with a layup with 1:33 showing on the clock.

That rally was required after a Drew surge that erased Juniata's 11-point lead with 11:45 remaining in the game.

With the Eagles leading 44-33, the Rangers scored 10-straight points including a pair of 3-pointers by Dana Coronato. Juniata stayed ahead of Drew with a Kelly Rotan (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) layup with 8:15 remaining, leaving the Eagles with a 46-43 lead. However another Coronato trey 18 seconds later knotted the game at 46-all.

Juniata regained the lead on a Jordan Speck (Huntingdon, Pa./Southern Huntingdon) 3-pointer. Back-to-back layups by Drew's Eden Blazovic and Coronato tilted the lead back in the Rangers' favor, 50-49, with 4:47 left in the game â?" but that merely set the stage for Juniata's late-game run toward the eventual win.

Hnatuck finished just shy of the double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds and a pair of blocks. Seven of her rebounds were on the offensive end of the floor. Rotan cleaned the glass for Juniata with 15 rebounds to go with her six points.

Speck tallied eight points for the Eagles, while Paige Robertson (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) and Meagan Raville (McSherrystown, Pa./Delone Catholic) had seven points each.

Coronato led all scorers with 21 points, including a 5-of-5 performance from 3-point range. Danielle Barber and Ashley Logan had eight points for the Rangers, while Blazovic hauled in 10 boards to go with four points.

Juniata returns home next weekend for a two-game Landmark Conference set, starting with Goucher College on Friday, Jan. 29, at 5:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.