LANCASTER, PA - Point guard Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) made history connecting on a school record seven three-pointers as part of a 31 point performance as the Franklin & Marshall College women's basketball team corralled the Muhlenberg College Mules 78-71 OT in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at the Mayser Center.
Historically, Johns performance tied her career high of 31 points set in a 71-62 victory over Ursinus College on February 5, 2005 and marked the 14th 30-point game in school history. Further, she tied herself and Laurie Baker for the 10th most points ever scored in the history of women's basketball at Franklin & Marshall College as Baker dropped in 31 points in a victory over Ursinus in 1975.
In addition, her seven-of-12 performance from beyond the three-point arc erases the previous school record of six three-pointers set by Dina White-Henry '94 as part of a 32-point night on November 23, 1993 in an 80-45 win over Haverford College in the Mayser Center.
As a team, F&M (5-11, 3-7 Centennial Conference) established a record for the most three-pointers in a game as the Diplomats drained 12-of-17 attempts as guard Christy Strunk (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) went three-for-six, guard Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn School) finished two-of-two and forward Emily Weaver (Sr., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) hit on one-of-two attempts.
The first victory over Muhlenberg College (15-2, 10-2 Centennial Conference) since a 71-59 win on December 2, 2000 at the Mayser Center in which guard Lauren Howanski '02 scored 29 points, the game improves the Diplomats to 19-10 all-time against the Mules and splits the season series as Muhlenberg won 68-46 in Allentown on January 10, 2006.
Tied for the Centennial Conference lead entering the game with Johns Hopkins University (14-4, 11-1 Centennial Conference), the Mules fall a game behind the Blue Jays courtesy the loss and a 71-61 victory by Hopkins over Dickinson College in Baltimore.
The game was nip-and-tuck through the first four minutes of play as the Mules and Diplomats exchanged the lead to an 11-10 Muhlenberg lead. The Mules pushed the margin out to six points at 16-10 with 14:44 left on the clock behind a pair of free throws by Lacie Smith and a three-pointer by Abra Like, but F&M came back as Meisenberg made a lay-up and connected on a three-pointer before Johns hit the second of her seven treys with 11:32 left in the first half to put F&M in front 18-16.
Kristen Piscaldo tied the game for Muhlenberg with a short jumper to knot the game at 18-18, but forward Brittany Braxton (So., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) put in a lay-up at 10:20, Johns drilled a three-pointer at 10:09 and forward Joanna DiPallo (Fr., Dublin, PA/Pennridge) made the front-end of a pair of free throws at 9:45 to cap off a 6-0 run and give F&M a 24-18 lead.
Stephanie Coluccini made a pair of free throws at 9:22 to cut the Diplomats' lead to 24-20, but Johns answered with a three-pointer at 8:13 to put the lead at 27-20.
Muhlenberg tied the game at 29-29 with 4:10 left in the half, but Johns and Meisenberg closed out the scoring in the first 20 minutes of play as Johns made two-of-three free throws with 1:56 left on the clock and Meisenberg fired in a three-pointer with 37 ticks on the scoreboard as the Diplomats carried a 34-29 lead into halftime.
Overall, Johns was the story of the first half connecting on five-of-11 from the field, including four-of-six from beyond the arc, and two-of-three at the charity stripe with two assists and three steals to key F&M as the Diplomats shot 26.8% (11-of-41) from the field, 58.3% (seven-of-12) from long range and 71.4% (five-of-seven) at the line.
Muhlenberg trimmed F&M's lead to 36-34 to open the second half as Meghan Courtney made a jumper and Valerie Robuck connected on a three-pointer. Strunk and Weaver answered making three-pointers to push Franklin & Marshall's lead to 42-36 with 15:39 left in regulation.
The Mules rallied to slice the lead to 42-40 at the 12:48 mark, but Johns swished her fifth three-pointer of the game to put the lead back at five points at the 12:29 mark. Muhlenberg again rallied to tie the game at 48-48 before Courtney made a pair of free throws to give the Mules their first lead since a 16-15 margin with 11:59 to play in the first half.
The lead was short-lived as Strunk knocked down a three-pointer with 8:17 to play to put the Diplomats in front 51-50. Weaver added a jumper to inch the lead out to 53-50 at 7:38, but Robuck swished a three-pointer to tie the score at 53-53 with 7:24 to play.
Franklin & Marshall retook the lead at the 7:00 mark as Johns drained a three-pointer to go ahead 56-53. Leading 58-55 with 5:44 left in regulation, Franklin & Marshall saw its lead dwindle to a 63-58 deficit with 3:41 left on the clock.
Strunk started F&M's comeback with a lay-up at 3:17 before Johns added a lay-up at 2:08 to cut the Mules' lead to 63-62. Smith made the back-end of a pair of free throws to give the Mules a 64-62 lead with 1:25 left on the clock, but Braxton put back a missed shot with 1:04 on the clock to tie the game at 64-64.
Needing a basket to win the game, Meisenberg was fouled with 6.9 seconds on the game clock. Her first attempt rolled off the front of the rim and through the hoop to put the Diplomats ahead 65-64 before her second attempt drew nothing but net to give Franklin & Marshall a 66-64 lead. Muhlenberg tied the game again on a last second shot as Courtney through up a lay-up at the buzzer that fell to knot the game at 66-66 and force overtime.
In the extra frame, Meisenberg dominated as she made a lay-up at 2:53 and a pair of free throws at 2:37 to give the Diplomats a 70-66 lead.
Bethany Enterline tallied Muhlenberg's first point of the five minute extra frame with a free-throw on the back end of a pair of chances at the charity stripe to pull the Mules to within three points, but Johns drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc with 1:36 to play to put Franklin & Marshall ahead 73-67.
The teams traded pairs of free throws as Courtney and Johns dropped shots at 1:16 and 1:03, respectively, to keep the lead at six points.
Courtney trimmed the Diplomats' lead back to four points at 75-71 with 1:03 to play with a lay-up, but Braxton made two-of-two at the line and Meisenberg went one-of-two at the line to close out the win.
The keys to the game were the performance of Johns and the Diplomats rebounding as Franklin & Marshall recorded a 57-49 advantage on the boards, including a 23-17 advantage on the offensive glass.
Overall, three Diplomats finished in double-digits in rebounding as Braxton recorded 13 rebounds and nine points, Meisenberg finished with 11 boards and 15 points and Weaver added 10 boards and nine points.
For Muhlenberg, Courtney led the way with 12 rebounds and 20 points as she went eight-of-23 from the field, while Smith added 15 points and seven rebounds, Piscaldo chipped in 11 points and 12 assists with four rebounds, Robuck tacked on 10 points and three boards and Enterline finished with one point and 12 rebounds.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on January 28 at Ursinus College. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
