LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall battled Johns Hopkins in a close 70-65 loss in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Tuesday evening at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats fell to 1-4, 0-2 CC, while the Blue Jays improved to 4-1, 3-0 CC.

F&M erased a 10-point Johns Hopkins halftime lead to come to within one at 51-50, off a Kara Bacile 3-pointer with 7:58 remaining in the contest. However, the Blue Jays pushed the lead back to six with a 12-7 run and only 3:14 left on the clock.

A pair of free throws by Emma Lisle cut the deficit to three at 65-62 and 21 seconds remaining, but clutch free throw shooting in the final seconds sealed the win for Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins was up by as many as 12 points, 42-30, at 17:26, but F&M responded with a 20-9 run over the next nine minutes to pull within one, 51-50 with 7:58 remaining in the game.

It was a tight game in the early going as the game was tied at 15-15 with 8:51 left in the first half. Johns Hopkins followed with a 21-8 run to pull ahead by 13 at 36-23 with 1:43 to go, and entered halftime with a double-digit lead at 38-28.

Kristina McCarthy notched her second double-double of the year, tying a career high with 20 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, while Hannah Rose Nussbaum added 16 points and Lisle registered 10.

Fatu Conteh paced the Blue Jays with a double-double, scoring 14 points and tacking on 10 rebounds, while Beatriz Williams notched 15 points.

The Blue Jays held a slight edge in rebounds, 43-38, while F&M held Johns Hopkins to 34.4 percent shooting from the floor.

F&M returns home Tuesday to take on Ursinus in CC action. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m.