LANCASTER, PA -- Center Amy Abernathy (Sr., Far Hills, NJ/American School-Paris) scored 13 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and swatted 10 blocked shots for a triple-double as the Franklin & Marshall College women's basketball team defeated Swarthmore College 57-48 in the Mayser Center.
Historically, her blocked shot performance was record shattering on a number of levels. For Abernathy, who recorded nine blocked shots in a 62-37 rout of Dickinson earlier in the week, her 10 blocks tie the Centennial Conference (Heidi Snyder, McDaniel vs. Washington, 2-9-95) and Franklin & Marshall (Anne Krumrine, vs. Ursinus, 2-4-89) single game record of 10 blocks in a contest and mark the most ever in a two-game span by an F&M player.
Further, her performance raised her single season block total to 90 as she reset the CC single season record of 83 established by Ursinus' Lauren Dorsey (1997), Bryn Mawr's Emilie Brondyke (1996) and Snyder (1995). Further, she is now three blocks shy of surpassing the school record as Krumrine swatted 92 shots in 1989.
The third women's player in F&M history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career, Abernathy now has 1,402 points, 1,088 rebounds and 248 blocked shots as she is sixth in scoring, third in rebounding and second in blocked shots in F&M history.
Against the Garnet, she dominated from the opening tip to the closing horn connecting on six-of-17 shots from the field and one-of-two at the free-throw line while corralling seven offensive and eight defensive boards. In addition, she handed out one assist and picked off a team high two steals as the Diplomats (11-9, 11-4 CC) move to three games ahead of Swarthmore (13-9, 8-7 CC) for the fourth and final Centennial Conference playoff berth.
If Franklin & Marshall wins one of the team's remaining three games at home versus McDaniel (February 18) or on the road at Washington (February 21) or Johns Hopkins (February 24), or if Swarthmore loses a game, the squad will clinch the berth and return to the playoff for the first time since 2002.
The key to the game was the first half play of Abernathy who converted four-of-11 attempts from the field and one-of-two at the charity stripe for nine points, with 11 rebounds (six offensive, five defensive) and six blocked shots as the blue and white built a 29-21 halftime advantage.
Trailing 13-9 with 11:36 remaining in the first half, Abernathy took control of the lane laying in three straight buckets to knot the game at 15-15 before Maura Lentz (Jr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) drilled a jumper for a 17-15 advantage with 8:24 remaining in the half.
The Diplomats refused to give up the lead as guard Courtney Tierney (Sr., Princeton, NJ/Hun School) drove the lane and flipped in a lay-up for a 19-15 advantage before point guard Dana Johns (So., York, PA/Eastern York) drained a "three" to finish off a 9-0 run and give Franklin & Marshall a 22-15 lead with 6:33 left in the half.
However, Swarthmore chipped away at the lead as Katie Robinson registered a pair of buckets before Alison Wolff corralled a loose ball and hit a jumper to cut the Diplomats' advantage to 22-21 with 3:29 on the clock. Wolff's points marked the last Swarthmore markers of the half as Amy Hofmann (Sr., Wernersville, PA/Conrad Weiser) connected for a pair of lay-ups, while Johns added a pair and Abernathy chipped in one free-throw in a 7-0 run to close out the half for the eight point halftime time lead.
In the second half, the Garnet stayed close cutting the lead to four points at 44-40 with 5:36 to play before Lentz canned a "three" to move the margin back to seven points with five minutes on the clock.
The teams exchanged baskets before Wolff drilled a "three" to put the score at 49-45 with three minutes to go before Abernathy split the Garnet defense for a lay-up and a six point F&M lead (51-45) with 2:25 on the clock.
Following a Swarthmore turnover, Johns hit a jumper before Robinson swished a three-pointer for a 53-48 score with 1:46 left. The remaining 100 seconds of the game belonged to Johns as she drove the lane for a lay-up and knocked down a pair of free throws for the final points in the 57-48 victory.
Overall, Johns finished with a game high 17 points and five assists, while Hofmann and Lentz finished with eight points apiece.
For Swarthmore, Robinson led the way with 16 points and five steals. Wolff added 15 points and Radiance Walters chipped in 11 rebounds in the effort.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 18 at home in the Mayser Center versus Centennial Conference front-runner McDaniel College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
