CARLISLE, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall had a game-winning jumper blocked on its final possession, falling to Dickinson in a nerve-racking 55-54 contest on Thursday night in Centennial Conference (CC) action. The Diplomats' record dropped to 6-10, 3-8 CC with the loss, while the Red Devils improved to 10-5, 6-5 CC.

Dickinson held a three-point advantage at 55-52 with 21 ticks left on the clock before Alexa Barbush was fouled and hit both free-throws at the line to pull F&M to within one.

The Diplomats immediately fouled after the basket, sending the Red Devils to the line. Dickinson was unable to take advantage of the chance to extend the lead, missing the one-and-one opportunity from the stripe.

Kristina McCarthy hauled in the defensive board and F&M advanced the ball up the court, down by one at 55-54. The Diplomats failed to land a bucket, but pulled in multiple offensive rebounds to keep their chances alive.

With five seconds remaining, Elizabeth Snyder tied up a Dickinson player on the court after an errant F&M shot to force a jump ball and retain possession for the Diplomats. F&M quickly called a timeout with just three seconds remaining in the contest.

Out of the timeout, Barbush had an opportunity to win the game in the paint, however the Red Devils got a hand on the senior guard's shot, preserving the narrow one-point victory.

The Diplomats led by as many as nine points in the second-half and looked to be in control at 40-31 with 14:00 minutes left. Dickinson fought back to take the lead with a 10-2 run, pulling ahead 43-42 with 6:56 to go in the game. The remainder of the contest was tight, as the lead changed hand six times from that point.

Barbush led all scorers with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-28 shooting and chipped in seven rebounds on the night. Snyder also reached double-figures for F&M with 12 points, while tacking on five rebounds and four assists.

Three Red Devils scored in double figures, led by 17 from Dana Walsh. Sarah Phillips added 12, followed by 10 from Bridget Borgese.

The Diplomats defense forced 24 turnovers in the contest and picked up 13 steals.

F&M returns home to face off against McDaniel on Saturday in CC action. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

DICKINSON 55, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 54

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (6-10-, 3-8)

Alexa Barbush 10-28 6-7 26; Elizabeth Snyder 5-15 0-0 12; Kristina McCarthy 2-4 1-2 5; Emily Wetz 1-2 0-2 3; Colleen Bott 1-3 0-0 2; Kara Bacile 1-2 0-0 2; Tracy Hahn 1-2 0-0 2; Hannah Rose Nussbaum 1-6 0-0 2; Caroline Studnicky 0-0 0-0 0; Emma Lisle 0-1 0-0 0; Sam Plunkett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-64 7-11 54.

DICKINSON (10-5, 6-5)

Dana Walsh 5-9 7-9 17; Sarah Phillips 4-9 0-0 12; Bridget Borgese 2-6 6-6 10; Belma Mekic 2-8 3-4 7; Rachel Sisco 2-4 0-1 5; Lindsay Finnerty 1-4 0-0 2; Liz Schultz 1-5 0-0 2; Megan Layman 0-0 0-0 0; Ashley Kinney 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals 17-46 16-20 55.

Franklin & Marshall...........   27   27  -   54

Dickinson.....................   23   32  -   55

3-point goals--Franklin & Marshall 3-10 (Elizabeth Snyder 2-4; Emily Wetz 1-2; Kara Bacile 0-1; Hannah Rose Nussbaum 0-1; Alexa Barbush 0-2), Dickinson 5-13 (Sarah Phillips 4-8; Rachel Sisco 1-3; Lindsay Finnerty 0-1; Liz Schultz 0-1).

 Fouled out--Franklin & Marshall-None, Dickinson-None.

Rebounds--Franklin & Marshall 39 (Kristina McCarthy 12), Dickinson 33 (Belma Mekic 9). Assists--Franklin & Marshall 13 (Elizabeth Snyder 4), Dickinson 12 (Rachel Sisco 3; Belma Mekic 3).

Total fouls--Franklin & Marshall 18, Dickinson 13.

Technical fouls--Franklin & Marshall-None, Dickinson-None.

A-80