Nov. 18, 2007

Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. - Sarah Meisenberg led all scorers with a game-high 20 points and six steals, helping Franklin & Marshall post a convincing 77-48 win over Alvernia to capture the 2007 Terry Greene Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday.

Meisenberg, who recorded 26 points in the win over Goucher in the semifinals, earned MVP honors, and Beth Holt tallied 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team for the Diplomats (2-0).

Jill Rosolie paced the Crusaders (1-1) with 12 points and Alexandra Velazquez chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.

F&M held Alvernia to just 22 points in the second half and used a 14-3 run over a six-minute span to take a 20-point lead and never look back for its second straight win to start the season.

After Ana Nieves got the first two points of the second half for the Crusaders, the Diplomats reeled off the next 13 consecutive points to take a 44-28 lead.

Holt made three consecutive free-throws, before Meisenberg drained back-to-back three-pointers and Amanda Miceli collected the next four points during the13-0 run.

Rosolie connected on two free-throws to stop Alvernia's four-minute scoring draught at the 14:29 mark.

Meisenberg made a third trey, while Jessica Feldman and Miceli exchanged layups to make it 51-31 with 12:43 left in the second half.

The Diplomats never backed down and got their biggest scoring margin on a jumper from Amy Chabitnoy at 71-42 with 4:04 remaining.

Except for the opening basket, F&M never trailed in the first half and took an early 8-2 lead in the first two minutes. The Crusaders managed to tie the game at 8-all after a jumper Ashley Bevins, but Miceli drove in for two straight layups to regain the lead at 12-8.

The Diplomats had eight players score in the first half and went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line 6-for-6 in the final nine minutes for a 31-26 edge at intermission.

Holt added five assists and Brittany Braxton pulled down nine rebounds in the win.

F&M returns to action on Tuesday night at Haverford. Game time is 7:30 p.m.