LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College point guard Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) dropped in a game high 21 points, but York College of Pennsylvania received double-digit scoring from Heather Kessler, Jessica Kemp, Ashley Robertson and Kristen Daly as the Spartans pulled away from the Diplomats in the second half for a 73-65 victory.
Overall, Johns hit eight-of-13 field goal attempts, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, and two-of-two at the free throw line for 21 points while collecting two rebounds, two assists and five steals in 40 minutes of play.
Trailing 6-1 to open the game, the Diplomats chipped away at the lead before Jessica Bishop (Fr., Verona, NJ/Montclair) hit a basket for a 14-13 lead with 9:04 left in the first half. The teams traded baskets before Bishop hit one-of-two at the charity stripe for an 18-17 margin with 7:04 left in the half. Johns drained a three-pointer to go ahead 21-17 to hold a four point lead.
The Spartans tied the game at 27-27 as Kessler dropped in a basket before Emily Weaver (So., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) hit a bucket and a foul shot to go back in front 30-27. Kessler and Johns both hit pairs of free throws to keep the margin at three points before Kemp swished a three-pointer with 28 seconds to go in the half for a 32-32 tie at intermission.
Franklin & Marshall jumped out to a 37-34 lead in the opening minutes of the second half before Robertson hit a three-pointer to tie the game before the Diplomats pushed the lead back to three points at 42-39 following a jumper by Christy Strunk (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) with 16:01 left in the half. The points ignited York which rolled off a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to take a 54-42 lead with 11:01 left in the game.
Trailing by as many as 15 points with 3:53 to go in the game, the Diplomats attempted to close the margin as Brittany Braxton (Fr., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) hit one-of-two free throws to start an 11-0 run fueled by six points from center Lauren Dodrill (Sr., Timonium, MD/Roland Park) to pull to within 69-65 with 40.5 seconds to go. However, Kemp and Kessler connected on pairs of free throws in the final 36 seconds as York held on for the eight point win.
Dodrill finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes, while Weaver added six points, Kim Rawson (Sr., Woodstock, NH/Plymouth) and Maura Lentz (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) added seven points and Strunk chipped in five points for the Diplomats.
Kessler led the Spartans (4-1, 1-1 Capital Athletic Conference) with 18 points, while Robertson and Kemp dropped in 10 points and Daly registered 16 points and 11 assists as York improves to 8-12 all-time against Franklin & Marshall.
Franklin & Marshall (1-5, 1-1 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on December 7 at Gettysburg College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
