Madison, NJ (Dec. 17, 2015) - Alvernia University (4-4) put away three free throws in the final six seconds to hold onto a 54-49 victory over Drew University (5-4) Thursday evening in non-conference action at Drew.

With just over a minute left in regulation and the game tied at 47, Tyra Roberts reestablished the Crusader lead, laying in her sixth field goal of the night for the 49-47 advantage. The Rangers squared things up with 35 second left, but Miranda Hoover quickly responded with a jumper to give Alvernia the 51-49 margin. After a missed three attempt by Drew at the other end, Stevie Fortna put the game out of reach, sinking two from the line to go up 53-49. Hoover added the exclamation point, going 1-2 from the line with three seconds left.

The contest was slow to start, with the Crusaders holding a 5-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Both teams hit their stride in the second quarter, with Alvernia grabbing the 19-15 upper hand in the quarter. Matched 9-9 with seven minutes left, the Rangers claimed their second and last lead by bettering a Roberts layup with a foul shot and pair of layups to pull ahead  15-11. Hoover completed the three-point play to bring Alvernia within one, and Roberts put the Crusaders up 16-15. Morgan Downs put together four points with Logan Focht and Olivia Andrefski adding baskets to take the 24-19 margin into the half.

The Crusaders and the Rangers mirrored each other in the second half, each racking up 30 points. Roberts was strong from the floor, going 4-9. Chelsea Ebersole was also key for Alvernia, collecting seven points while making the Crusaders only shot from behind the arc on the night. 

Alvernia held its largest lead with 1:39 left in the third when Ebersole drained her 3 to put the Crusaders up by 8 at 37-29. The Rangers responded with their own 3 at the end of the quarter to enter the final quarter just five points behind. 

Roberts finished the night as the Crusaders high scorer, picking up 13 points with 8 rebounds. Freshman Hoover netted a season and career high 10 points with 8 rebounds.

Alvernia continues its season this weekend, competing in the Daytona Beach Tournament in Daytona, Florida. In the two-day tournaments, the Crusaders will play two games, starting with Washington and Lee at 10:00 am on Sunday.