CARLISLE, PA - Dickinson College's Ally Teatom and Megan Shelley poured in 16 and 13 points, respectively, as the Red Devils claimed sole possession of first place in the Centennial Conference with a 56-43 win over Franklin & Marshall College in women's basketball.
Leading 22-19 at halftime, the Devils (19-2, 14-1 Centennial Conference) saw their lead dwindle to a 22-22 tie as forward Emily Weaver (So., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) connected on a lay-up and guard Maura Lentz (Sr., Baltimore, MD/Catonsville) dropped in a free throw to knot the game with 18:36 remaining on the clock.
The teams traded baskets as Teatom dropped in a lay-up and Lentz put in a basket to keep the game knotted at 24-24. However, Teatom chipped in a lay-up at 17:18 to ignite a 6-0 run to put the Devils in front 30-24 with 14:46 left in the game.
The Diplomats sliced the lead to three points as center Lauren Dodrill (Sr., Timonium, MD/Roland Park) made a free throw and Lentz tallied a lay-up to pull to within 30-27 at the 12:01 mark.
Dickinson rallied as Teatom hit a jumper to start a 21-2 run over the next 9:47 as the Red Devils took a 51-29 lead with 2:14 left on the clock.
Franklin & Marshall attempted to rally as Lentz hit a three-pointer at 1:57 and point guard Dana Johns (Jr., York, PA/Eastern York) knocked down a jumper to cut the lead to 51-34 with 1:39 remaining.
Dickinson's Carly Onkotz converted a pair of free throws to move the lead back to 19 points, but Johns connected on a lay-up at 1:23 to make the score 53-36. Onkotz added a free-throw at 1:19 before Lentz drilled a three-pointer, Brittany Braxton (Fr., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) tallied a lay-up and Jessica Bishop (Fr., Verona, NJ/Montclair) hit a jumper to pull Franklin & Marshall to within 54-43 with 40 seconds remaining. Jen Reitmeyer closed out the scoring with a jumper at :16 for the 56-43 final.
Johns led the Diplomats with 14 points, while Lentz added 13 points and Dodrill chipped in 13 rebounds and three points.
The Diplomats jumped out to an early lead as Johns hit a three-pointer 37 seconds into the game. Leading 6-5 with 17:35 left in the first half, Franklin & Marshall engineered a 6-0 run as Dodrill, Braxton and Weaver tallied baskets for a 12-5 lead. Dickinson countered with a 6-0 run to pull to within 12-11 before Christy Strunk (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) made a free throw and Johns put in a lay-up for a 15-11 lead with 4:51 left until halftime.
The teams traded baskets as Onkotz made a lay-up and Shelley hit a three-pointer to put the Devils ahead 16-15 before Lentz knocked down a jumper to put the Diplomats ahead 17-16 with 2:38 left.
However, Dickinson closed out the half with a 6-2 run as Shelley, Laura Housel and Teatom connected on baskets for a 22-19 Red Devils' lead at intermission.
Overall, Dickinson shot 38.6% (22-of-57) from the field, 15.4% (two-of-13) from beyond the arc and 66.7% (10-of-15) from the free throw line with 14 assists, 17 turnovers, six blocks and 14 steals, while F&M connected on 30.0% (18-of-60) from the field, 26.7% (four-of-15) from beyond the arc and 25.0% (three-of-12) from the free throw line with seven assists, 28 turnovers, one block and nine steals.
Courtesy the win and an 81-80 loss by McDaniel College (19-3, 13-2 CC) to Johns Hopkins University (17-4, 12-2 CC), Dickinson now has a one game lead in the Centennial Conference regular season title race. Further, Franklin & Marshall (9-12, 7-7 CC) remains in the hunt for the fifth and final Centennial Conference playoff spot as Gettysburg (11-9, 8-5 CC), Ursinus (10-11, 6-8 CC) and Muhlenberg (9-12, 5-9 CC) could battle to the wire for the last postseason berth.
Franklin & Marshall (9-12, 7-7 Centennial Conference) will return to action on February 12 at Swarthmore College. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.
