BETHLEHEM, PA - Guard Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn School) hit four-of-10 from the field and eight-of-nine at the free throw line for a game high 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Franklin & Marshall College women's basketball team handled Delaware Valley 53-44 in the opening game of the 2006 Moravian College Starters Tournament.
Meisenberg was one of three Diplomats (3-5, 1-2 Centennial Conference) to reach double figures in rebounds as forwards Brittany Braxton (So., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) and Emily Weaver (Sr., Prince Frederick, MD/Calverton) pulled down 13 and 11 boards, respectively, while she was one of two F&M players to hit double-digits in points as point guard Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) poured in 10 points.
The key to the game was free throws as the Diplomats connected on 10-of-11 in the second half, while the Aggies (7-3, 2-0 MAC Freedom League) made three-of-six. For the game, Franklin & Marshall finished 12-of-14 at the charity stripe, while Delaware Valley connected on five-of-10 opportunities at the line for a seven point swing.
Trailing 24-23 at halftime, F&M opened the second half with a 12-2 run in the to take a 35-26 lead with 15:31 to play. Guard Christy Strunk (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) started the spurt for the Diplomats as she connected on a lay-up at the 19:37 mark before Johns drove to the basket for a lay-up and a free throw to take a 30-24 lead. Delaware Valley's Juli McGowan trimmed the margin back to four points with a jumper at 17:39, but Braxton made a lay-up and a free throw at 16:53 before Meisenberg dropped in a lay-up at 15:31 for the nine point lead.
Delaware Valley fired back with a lay-up by Kristen Bone and a free throw by Shannon O'Neill to slice the lead back to 35-29 with 12:45 to play, but guard Amanda Miceli (Fr., North Caldwell, NJ/West Essex) and Meisenberg made baskets to inch the lead out to 39-29 with 11:17 to play.
The Aggies came back as Delaware Valley countered with a 10-2 capped by a lay-up by McGowan to pull to within 41-39 with 7:49 left on the clock.
Franklin & Marshall responded with lay-up and foul shots by Strunk and forward Joanna DiPallo (Fr., Dublin, PA/Pennridge) at 5:51 and 3:35, respectively, for a 6-0 run and a 45-39 lead,
Again, Delaware Valley came back as McGowan made a lay-up at 2:42 and O'Neill drilled a three-pointer at 2:21 to cut the lead back to 45-44.
Meisenberg then took over the game making a lay-up at 1:54 to put the margin back at three points before draining pairs of free-throws at the 38, 27 and 26 second marks for the 53-44 final score.
The game was a series of runs in the first half as the Diplomats opened the game with a 13-4 start before Delaware Valley engineered a 16-0 series to go ahead 20-13 with 5:48 remaining until halftime.
The teams traded baskets before the Diplomats behind lay-ups by Weaver and Meisenberg and a pair of buckets by forward Miriam Marcis (Fr., Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) closed to within 24-23 prior to halftime.
For Delaware Valley, McGowan led the way with 12 points, while O'Neill added nine and Moira Donohue and Rachel Joyce chipped in seven points apiece.
A key to the game was F&M's rebounding as the Diplomats pulled down 53 boards to the Aggies 40, including a 37-26 advantage on the defensive glass.
The game marked the first meeting between F&M and Delaware Valley since 1981 in women's basketball as the Diplomats improve to 5-2 against the Aggies and now hold a two-game winning streak following a 62-35 win on January 20, 1981 in the Mayser Center.
Franklin & Marshall College will continue the season on January 7 at 3:00 p.m. in the Starters Tournament title game versus the winner of the Moravian College-Albany College of Pharmacy first round game.
