LANCASTER, PA - Westfield State guard Kyana Zavala netted 16 points on three-of-11 shooting the field and 10-of-14 at the free throw line to key three scorers in double digits and earn All-Tournament honors as Westfield State College (1-1) defeated Franklin & Marshall College (0-2) 70-52 in the consolation game of the 2004 F&M Women's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament at the Mayser Center.
Forward Kristen Strole added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Melissa Machi came off the bench to chip in 13 points as the Owls connected on 24-of-61 from the field (39.3%), five-of-nine from beyond the arc (55.6%) and 17-of-28 at the free-throw line (60.7%) with 59 rebounds, including 40 defensive boards, while corralling 12 steals and dishing out 13 assists.
Trailing 14-13 with 13:02 left in the first half, Westfield exploded for a 23-0 run over the next eight minutes as six different Owls' recorded field goals to take a 36-14 lead with 4:59 left in the half. F&M broke the string with 4:16 left as guard Christy Strunk (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) hit a jumper to pull the Diplomats to within 20 points. Strunk tacked on a pair of field goals 57 seconds later to move to within 18, but Sarah Langner drilled a three-pointer off an assist from Macchi to go ahead 39-18. Zavala hit a lay-up at 2:16 before center Lauren Dodrill (Sr., Timonium, MD/Roland Park) made the front-end of a pair of free-throws to pull to within 22 points at 41-19 before Natalia Araskiewicz made a pair of free-throws and Rebekah Lent added a one-of-two performance at the charity stripe for a 44-19 lead at intermission.
The margin expanded to 32 points at 57-25 following a lay-up by Strole with 12:54 left in the second half before Franklin & Marshall began to attempt to make a comeback.
Guard Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) hit a pair of free throws and a lay-up to move to within 57-29 before forward Emily Weaver (So., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) knocked down a pair of free throws to pull F&M to within 26 points. Dodrill added a free throw, Johns hit a jumper and Strunk converted a pair of lay-ups to close to within 57-38 with 6:52 showing on the clock.
However, Zavala made three-of-four free throws to inch the lead back to 22 points at 60-38. Trailing 65-43 following a basket by Strole with 2:32 left on the clock, the Diplomats outscored the Owls 9-5 down the stretch for the 70-52 final score.
For F&M, Dodrill recorded a double-double with 17 points off seven-of-11 from the field and three-of-eight at the line with 11 rebounds in 38 minutes, while Strunk connected on five-of-16 shots and two-of-five at the line for 12 points with seven rebounds and a game high three assists.
Johns hit four-of-12 shots, including two-of-four from long range, and converted three-of-four chances at the free-throw line for 13 points with six steals in 26 minutes to be named to the All-Tournament team.
In the title game, Meghann Sevard connected on eight-of-15 field goal attempts and four-of-seven at the free-throw line for a game high 20 points with eight rebounds as Defiance College (2-0) knocked off Albright College (1-1) 58-48.
The Yellow Jackets never trailed in the game as Meta Gerding drained a three-pointer 39 seconds into the game as Defiance built a 33-25 lead by halftime and outscored the Lions 25-23 over the final 20 minutes of play for the 10 point victory.
Gerding finished with 16 points off four-of-nine shooting with three treys and a five-of-five performance at the charity stripe in 36 minutes.
Kelly Cross led the Lions with 11 points while Jacqueline Hardwick tacked on 10 points and six rebounds.
The key to the game was fouls as Albright committed 23 penalties to allow the Yellow Jackets to shoot and convert on 19-of-23 free-throws, including 12 fouls for 10-of-15 free-throws in the second half, while Defiance committed seven fouls in the game to allow Albright to convert on just three-of-four chances at the charity stripe.
Overall, Sevard was named the tournament MVP, while Johns, Zavala, Gerding and Albright's Marie Levins earned All-Tournament honors.
Franklin & Marshal (0-2, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will open the Centennial Conference season on November 23 at home versus Muhlenberg College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
