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Second Half Surge Carries Cardinals Past Drew, 66-56

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MADISON, N.J. - Catholic University women's basketball sophomore Rachel Bussanich scored 18 of her career-high 24 points in the second half to lead the Cardinals to a 66-56 come-from-behind, road victory over Drew Wednesday.

Catholic (6-2, 6-2 LC) has won 10 of its last 11 road games against the Rangers dating back to Jan. 15, 2011.

Drew, who edged out a 76-71 victory in the season opener for both teams, led by as many as 18 points with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter, 30-12.

From there, the Cardinals outscored the Rangers, 54-26, over the final 18 minutes to finish the regular season with six wins in eight games.

Bussanich played the entire second half, going 6-for-9 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. She finished with a career-high 38 minutes after playing all but two minutes in the first half.

After a layup by Sekya Campbell gave Drew a 30-12 lead, Bussanich scored eight consecutive points before a basket by junior Amanda Johnson pulled the Cardinals within 10 points with 6:29 left in the third quarter.

Bussanich scored 11 points in the quarter while sophomore Amelia Baldo added six as Catholic cut its deficit to 42-38 after three.

The Cardinals scored 10 of the first 14 points to start the fourth quarter, taking their first lead of the game on a layup by sophomore Erin Doherty with 6:18 remaining, 48-46.

The Rangers (3-2, 3-2 LC) tied the game at 48-48, but a three-pointer by sophomore Sammie McCarter and a three-point play by Bussanich put the visitors in front to stay, 54-50 with 4:39 to play.

McCarter scored all eight of her points in the fourth while Bussanich added seven.

Catholic scored 18 off its second-half points off 12 Drew turnovers and held a commanding 30-16 edge in points in the paint. The team also scored 12 fast break points.

Doherty finished with 11 points while Baldo had 10 to go along with five assists and eight steals. Johnson totaled eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Campbell led the Rangers with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cardinals will now await seeding for the 2021 Landmark Conference Women's Basketball Championship which begins Tuesday, March 2. The team is currently in second place behind Scranton who owns a 4-1 conference record with three games remaining, including two against Juniata and one versus Drew.

Drew currently sits in third place with mark of 3-2 in conference while Moravian is fourth at 2-4 and Juniata is fifth at 0-6.

The fourth and fifth-seed will play in the first round on March 2 with the winner advancing to play the top-seed in the semifinals on Thursday, March 4. The second and third-seed will meet in the semifinals the same night with the championship game taking place on Saturday, March 6 at the highest remaining seed.

 

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Players Mentioned

Amelia Baldo

#10 Amelia Baldo

G
5' 7"
Junior
Rachel Bussanich

#1 Rachel Bussanich

F
6' 1"
Junior
Erin Doherty

#25 Erin Doherty

G
5' 9"
Junior
Amanda Johnson

#23 Amanda Johnson

G
5' 11"
Senior
Sammie McCarter

#12 Sammie McCarter

G
5' 6"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Amelia Baldo

#10 Amelia Baldo

5' 7"
Junior
G
Rachel Bussanich

#1 Rachel Bussanich

6' 1"
Junior
F
Erin Doherty

#25 Erin Doherty

5' 9"
Junior
G
Amanda Johnson

#23 Amanda Johnson

5' 11"
Senior
G
Sammie McCarter

#12 Sammie McCarter

5' 6"
Junior
G