Rangers poised for postseason after win over Temple

The Ranger women came into their matchup with Temple College on Saturday riding a two-game winning streak as they continue their push for the postseason. Lena Maledon came off the bench and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, which jump-started the Rangers offensive attack. The ladies built a 30-23 halftime lead and continued to build upon that in the third quarter as they went on to beat the Lady Leopards 67-51.

"I thought it was a really good team effort," said Ranger head coach Bill Foy. "I thought we came out and made our presence known defensively right from the beginning."

The win propelled the Rangers into third place ahead of Temple in conference standings with just three games left in the regular season.

DECIDING MOMENT

Temple avoided being knocked out of the game in the second quarter, but Ranger came out of the locker room determined to finish the job. Jodie Fisher started the run with a layup to push the lead to 32-23. Back-to-back layups by Shaylan Coleman pushed the lead to double-figures at 36-23. Brynae Thompson went on a 4-0 run of her own that gave the Rangers their biggest lead at 40-26.

Temple tried yet again to stay within striking distance, but Fisher converted an and-one and Shadazia Birchette knocked down a three-ball to cap a 23-point third quarter by the Rangers.

"We just tried to make sure that we came out with a lot of effort. I told them we had worked hard to build a seven-point lead, so let's come out with the mentality that it's 0-0. We did that and we kept doing what we did well in the first half," Foy said.

SCHEDULE SAYS

Ranger hosts Hill College Wednesday at 5 p.m. in another critical game for postseason positioning. Hill entered play on Saturday tied with Ranger and Temple for third place. The Rebels beat the Rangers earlier this season 60-45.