LANCASTER, PA - Gettysburg College placed four starters in double digits as the Bullets held off a series of Franklin & Marshall College runs to defeat the Diplomats 75-67 in Centennial Conference women's basketball at the Mayser Center.
For the Bullets (12-8, 9-4 Centennial Conference), forward Kathryn Reilly scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds with three assists and two blocks in 28 minutes, while guard Jamie Marshall and forward Jen Bengel added 16 points and guard Megan Hartman added 14 points.
Point guard Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) led the Diplomats (5-13, 3-9 Centennial Conference) with 22 points on nine-of-16 shooting, including three-of-seven from beyond the arc, and one-of-two at the free throw as she raised her career scoring total to 996 points as she stands four points shy of becoming the 13th women's player in Franklin & Marshall College history with 1,000 career points.
Guard Christy Strunk (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) added 17 points and four assists, guard Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn School) chipped in 13 points two assists and three steals and forward Brittany Braxton (So., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) tallied four points and 11 rebounds as the Diplomats fell to 30-24 all-time against Gettysburg in women's basketball.
The Bullets never trailed in the game as Gettysburg used an 8-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half to carry a 39-32 lead into halftime.
Trailing 58-49 with 10:37 left on the game clock, Franklin & Marshall went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 60-60. Johns started the run for the Diplomats hitting a jumper at 9:28 before guard Amanda Miceli (Fr., North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) drained a three pointer and a jumper at 8:18 and 7:40, respectively, to pull the Diplomats to within 58-56. Gettysburg's Katie Eiden broke the run with a lay-up at 6:43 to push the Bullets' lead back to 60-56, but Strunk hit a jumper at 6:20 to set the score at 60-58. The Diplomats tied the score at the 5:46 mark as Braxton made a pair of free throws.
However, the Bullets regained the lead 32 seconds later as Reilly put in a lay-up before Hartman added a basket at 4:44 to put Gettysburg ahead 64-60.
Johns made a free throw at 4:29 to pull F&M to within three points at 64-64, but Bengel and Reilly added lay-ups at 3:36 and 2:15, respectively for a 68-61 lead.
Strunk added a lay-up at 2:15 to trim the Bullets' lead to 68-63, but Marshall drilled a three-pointer with 1:45 left on the clock to seal the win. Johns made a lay-up at 1:23, Reilly drained a pair of free throws at 1:02, Marshall made a pair of free throws with 38.6 seconds to play and Meisenberg finished off the game with a lay-up at the seven seconds mark for the 75-67 final score.
The key to the game was Gettysburg's shooting at the free throw line as the Bullets drained 18-of-21, including 10-of-10 in the first half, while holding the Diplomats to six-of-nine chances at the charity stripe.
Overall, the Diplomats dominated the offensive glass as Franklin & Marshall held a 17-9 advantage in offensive rebounds, while Gettysburg recorded a 29-17 margin on the defensive glass.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 2 at home versus Elizabethtown College in non-conference action. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
