GETTYSBURG, PA - Gettysburg College drained 23-of-28 free throws in the second half to hold off Franklin & Marshall College 71-58 in Centennial Conference women's basketball action.
Elizabeth Ross led the Bullets (4-3, 2-2 Centennial Conference) with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Jen Bengel had a game-high 21 points, including 9-for-10 from the free throw line, and Katie Eiden registered 11 points.
Maura Lentz (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) led Franklin & Marshall (1-6, 1-2 Centennial Conference) with 19 points, including four treys, three steals and seven rebounds, while center Lauren Dodrill (Sr., Timonium, MD/Roland Park) chipped in six points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Point guard Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) dropped in 10 points and grabbed three steals as the Diplomats fell to 30-22 all-time against Gettysburg.
The Bullets jumped out to a 5-0 lead as Bengel dropped a jumper in the first seconds of the game then Emily Falk less than two minutes into the game.
With her team down early, Lentz scored a jumper and a 3-pointer to bring F&M within three at 11-8 with 15:09 left in the first half. Christy Strunk (So., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) converted a three-point basket to knot the game at 11 and a lay-up by Emily Weaver (So., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) gave the Diplomats their first lead of the day at 13-11 with 13:10 to go in the half.
Eiden answered with 11:50 left to knot the game and Bengel converted a lay-up for a 15-13 lead before Johns connected on a three-pointer with 10:56 to go in the half for a 16-15 lead. However, the Bullets countered with an 8-0 run as Bengel and Jamie Marshall swished pairs of baskets for a 23-16 lead with 7:47 left in the half as the Bullets held the lead for the remainder of the game.
Johns connected on a pair of free throws to cut the lead to five points, but Ross hit a jumper and Eiden drained a three-pointer to take a 28-18 lead before both teams exchanged baskets for a 30-20 halftime score.
Strunk struck for a three-pointer to open the second half, but the Bullets took over with Ross and Kathryn Reilly combining for the eight of the next 11 points to claim a 12 point advantage with 15:41 left to play.
The Bullets opened the biggest lead of the night at 55-37 with just over seven minutes remaining before F&M chipped away at the lead for the 71-58 final score.
The key to the game was foul shots as Gettysburg connected on 23-of-28 in the second half to outscore Franklin & Marshall 41-38 in the final 20 minutes of play.
Franklin & Marshall (1-6, 1-2 CC) will return to action on December 10 at Bryn Mawr College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
