LANCASTER, Pa. – Messiah opened up with a 7-0 lead and never trailed in a 58-42 win over Franklin & Marshall Friday afternoon.  The Diplomats fell to 5-4 while the Falcons improved to 5-5.

Taylor Miller scored Messiah's first five points and Dori Gyori's jumper made it 7-0. After Alexa Barbush's three momentarily halted the Falcons' run, Messiah tacked on 11 unanswered to lead 18-3 with 12:02 left in the first. The Falcons took a 37-17 lead into halftime.

The Diplomats got within 12 points in the second half, 52-40, with 3:27 left in the game. F&M used a 9-2 run with a free throw from Elizabeth Snyder, two jumpers by Emma Lisle, Allison Bauer's field goal and a layup by Beth Holt.

Holt led the Diplomats with nine points and Megan Pauley grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for F&M. Holt and Lisle pulled down seven boards each for the Diplomats.

Michele Schleich scored a game-high 13 points for Messiah and Miller added 12. Kira Maier and Nikki Hess score nine points each for the Falcons.

Franklin & Marshall travels to Washington Wednesday for a 6 p.m. Centennial Conference game.

MESSIAH 58, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 42
MESSIAH (5-5)
Michele Schleich 3-4 7-8 13; Taylor Miller 4-10 2-2 12; Nikki Hess 4-6 1-2 9; Kira Maier 4-10 1-2 9; Chelsea Danel 2-3 2-2 6; Dori Gyori 1-4 2-4 4; Becca Albus 1-1 0-0 3; Emily Martz 1-3 0-0 2; Megan Shipe 0-0 0-0 0; Jordan Seiz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-42 15-20 58.
 
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (5-4)
Beth Holt 3-10 3-3 9; Alexa Barbush 2-9 1-2 6; Allison Bauer 3-6 0-0 6; Emma Lisle 3-5 0-2 6; Amy Chabitnoy 2-5 1-1 5; Colleen Bott 2-6 0-0 4; Megan Pauley 1-8 2-2 4; Elizabeth Snyder 0-2 2-6 2; Alison Menna 0-1 0-0 0; Emily Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Kristina McCarthy 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 16-59 9-16 42.
 
Messiah.......................   37   21  -   58
Franklin & Marshall...........   17   25  -   42
 
3-point goals--Messiah 3-11 (Taylor Miller 2-7; Becca Albus 1-1; Chelsea Danel 0-1; Nikki Hess 0-2), Franklin & Marshall 1-11 (Alexa Barbush 1-2; Allison Bauer 0-2; Megan Pauley 0-1; Elizabeth Snyder 0-1; Beth Holt 0-5).
 
Fouled out--Messiah-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
 
Rebounds--Messiah 29 (Michele Schleich 7; Dori Gyori 7), Franklin & Marshall 38 (Megan Pauley 8).

Assists--Messiah 9 (Taylor Miller 3), Franklin & Marshall 6 (Alexa Barbush 2).
 
Total fouls--Messiah 19, Franklin & Marshall 17.
 
Technical fouls--Messiah-None, Franklin & Marshall-None.
 
A-437