SWARTHMORE, PA - Franklin & Marshall College point guard Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) connected on eight-of-13 from the field, including six-of-nine from beyond the arc, and three-of-six at the free throw line for a game high 25 points as the Diplomats upended Swarthmore College 62-51 in Centennial Conference women's basketball.
The win keeps the Diplomats' playoff hopes alive as Franklin & Marshall improved to 10-12, 8-7 in the Centennial Conference to remain one game back of Gettysburg (12-10, 9-6 CC) and Swarthmore (13-9, 9-6 CC) who are tied for the #4 and #5 seeds in the playoffs with 9-6 CC marks.
Against the Garnet, Johns led an F&M second half comeback as the Diplomats entered the locker room trailing 29-26 at halftime. After the break, the Diplomats behind Johns' 17 second half points outscored Swarthmore 36-22 for the 11 point victory.
Leading 37-31 with 14:53 remaining on the game clock, the Garnet saw their lead evaporate in 44 seconds as Johns drilled a three-pointer at 14:33 off an assist Christy Strunk (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) and repeated the feat off a feed from guard Maura Lentz (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) at 14:09 to knot the game at 37-37.
Swarthmore's Karen Berk knocked down a field goal at 12:59 to put the Garnet back in front at 39-37, but Johns ignited from beyond the arc again drilling a three-pointer at 12:53 to put F&M in front 40-39 before shaking her defender, knocking down a trey at 12:02 while being fouled by Swarthmore's Kristen Lee for a 43-39 lead to ignite a 9-0 run by the Diplomats for a 46-39 lead at the 11:00 mark.
Johns' four consecutive three-pointers mark the first time in recorded F&M women's basketball history that a player has drained four consecutive shots from beyond the arc.
The Garnet attempted to climb back into the game as Jessica Fuhr hit a field goal at 10:45 to cut the lead to five points, but Lentz drained a three, center Lauren Dodrill (Sr., Timonium, MD/Roland Park) converted three straight free throws and Johns hit a three-pointer at 7:13 to account for a 10-0 F&M run and a 56-41 lead.
The run iced the victory as Swarthmore was only able to cut the lead to seven points the rest of the way as Franklin & Marshall defeated the Garnet for the second time this season following a 57-45 win in the Mayser Center on January 11.
Overall, Johns was unstoppable in the second half making five-of-eight from the floor, including five-of-six from beyond the arc, and two-of-four at the charity stripe. In addition, she tied the school record for most three point field goals in a game for the second time this season as she made six-of-eight in a 75-62 win over Lincoln in the Mayser Center on January 27. Historically, Dina White Henry '94 drained six-of-seven from long range to lead all scorers with 32 points in an 80-45 win over Haverford College on November 23, 1993 to set the record.
In addition to Johns, Dodrill finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her Centennial Conference leading 14th double-double of the season, while Strunk added four points and a game high six assists. Lentz chipped in eight points and forward Emily Weaver (So., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) added eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots as F&M improves to 23-8 all-time against Swarthmore.
For the Garnet, Radiance Walters led the way with nine points and five rebounds, while Ali Wolff and Berk each added eight points.
The key to the game was F&M's three-point shooting as the Diplomats drained eight-of-18, including seven-of-10 in the second half, while holding Swarthmore to three-of-12 from beyond the arc.
The Diplomats will face a tough road to the playoffs as the team will travel to current #2 seed McDaniel on February 16, host Washington on February 19 and square-off with #3 seed Johns Hopkins in Mayser on February 22, while Gettysburg will travel to Hopkins on February 16, before hosting Swarthmore and #1 seed Dickinson on February 19 and 22, respectively.
The easiest road to the playoffs belongs to Swarthmore as the Garnet host Washington on February 16, travel to Gettysburg on February 19 and travel to Haverford on February 22 as the team's last three opponents have a combined CC record of 13-32, while Gettysburg will face a 36-9 opponents' record and the Diplomats will square off against a 29-14 record.
If Gettysburg wins two games, the Diplomats will be eliminated from the playoffs. However, if the Bullets and Diplomats conclude the season tied and the Bullets do not defeat Hopkins or Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall will advance to the playoffs based on record versus opponents' in descending order of standings as the Diplomats swept the season series from Swarthmore, while Gettysburg fell 63-51 at Swarthmore on January 15.
In the only meeting between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall this season, the Bullets defeated the Diplomats 71-58 in Gettysburg.
However, per Centennial Conference rules for tiebreakers, the game cannot be considered as the visiting Diplomats lost. If the game had been played in Lancaster, and the Bullets were victorious, Gettysburg would advance to the playoffs as the rule gives an edge to the road team if tied teams play just once.
Franklin & Marshall (10-12, 8-7 Centennial Conference) will return to action on February 16 at McDaniel College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
