LANCASTER, PA - Guard Sarah Meisenberg (Fr., Severna Park, MD/Severn School) scored 19 points, including the game-winning lay-up with two seconds left on the clock, to lead Franklin & Marshall College to a 68-66 win over Swarthmore College in Centennial Conference women's basketball action at the Mayser Center,
Tied 66-66 following a lay-up by the Garnet Tide's Karen Berk at the 1:27 mark, the Diplomats and Swarthmore traded possessions as the Garnet turned the ball over with eight seconds left on the clock courtesy a pass which sailed out of bounds.
Franklin & Marshall (8-14, 5-10 Centennial Conference) took advantage of the errant pass as the Diplomats in bounded the ball and found Meisenberg who put home the game-winner with two seconds showing on the game clock. Swarthmore (9-12, 5-10 Centennial Conference) in bounded the ball to half-court, but the Diplomats broke up the pass and collected the loose ball to run out the clock and hold on for the two-point victory.
The ending was climatic as the Garnet fought back from an 11-point deficit with less than five minutes to play. Trailing 63-52 following a free throw by guard Christy Strunk (Sr., Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) at the 4:57 mark, Swarthmore began to rally as Jennifer Stevenson put back a missed shot at 4:44 and Karen Berk drove to the lane for a lay-up and a foul at the 4:07 mark. Berk drained the free throw to cut the margin to 63-57 before forward Brittany Braxton (So., Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) made the front end of a pair of free throws at 3:52 to set the Diplomats' lead back at seven points.
F&M and Swarthmore traded points as Debbie Farrelly swished a jumper at 3:31 and Meisenberg connected on a pair of free throws at 3:27 to keep Franklin & Marshall ahead by seven points at 66-59.
Swarthmore then took over the game as Melissa Grigsby made a lay-up at 3:12, Strunk was whistled for a charge at 2:44, Stevenson drained a three-pointer at 1:56 and Berk added a lay-up at 1:27 to tie the score and set up Meisenberg's game-winning shot.
Overall, Meisenberg finished the game making seven-of-10 shots from the field, including one-of-two beyond the arc, and four-of-four at the free throw line with four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 32 minutes. Strunk added 12 points with eight rebounds and two steals, while point guard Dana Johns (Sr., York, PA/Eastern York) tacked on 13 points with three rebounds and four steals.
Historically, Johns raised her career scoring total to 1,050 points as she ranks 11th in scoring in program history. Further, she now has 245 steals, 281 assists and 160 three-pointers as she ranks first in treys, third in steals and third in assists at Franklin & Marshall.
For Swarthmore, Berk netted a game high 27 points as she made 11-of-22 from the field and five-of-five at the free throw line with nine rebounds and a blocked shot.
Farrelly added 11 points, three rebounds and two steals, while Cara Tigue chipped in six points and 11 rebounds for the Garnet.
Trailing 27-25 at halftime, the Diplomats and Garnet traded points in the opening minutes of the second half as the lead was tied at 27-27, 29-29 and 31-31. F&M took the lead at 17:21 as Strunk made a jumper to start a 9-0 run to build a 40-31 Franklin & Marshall lead with 15:31 on the clock.
Swarthmore fought back to chop the lead down to seven points at 45-38 with 12:29 to play, but Johns drained a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10 points as the Garnet were unable to move to within seven points or less until the final four minutes of the game.
The keys to the game were turnovers, steals and free throws as Swarthmore committed 24 miscues grabbed 10 steals, while the Diplomats turned the ball over 20 times with 15 steals. Further, Franklin & Marshall drained 18-of-23 at the free throw line, while the Garnet connected on 12-of-13 at the charity stripe.
Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 11 at Washington College in Centennial Conference play. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.
