HARRISBURG, Pa. – Freshman forward Lindsey Powers notched a team-high 14 points in her college debut, but Franklin & Marshall fell 69-55 to Penn St.-Harrisburg on Saturday night in the first contest of the season for both squads. The Diplomats fell to 0-1 on the year while the Nittany Lions improved to 1-0.

Down 13 points to open the fourth quarter, Powers, a freshman from Jupiter, Fla., made a pair of treys to put F&M back within nine at 50-41. She added three free throws later in the period to give her nine for the quarter, however, a late 6-0 run by Penn St.-Harrisburg put the game out of reach.

The opening quarter saw the teams trade buckets before an Erica Brown jumper gave the Diplomats a 12-8 lead with 2:39 left in the period. However, a Penn St.-Harrisburg three cut the lead to 12-11 at the end of the first.

Brown led the F&M offense in the period, recording five points.

The next quarter saw the teams stay close, with Brown converting a pair of free throws to knot the score at 18 with 2:46 left before halftime. A pair of threes put the Nittany Lions up 25-21 with 37 ticks left, but the Diplomats fought back to make the score 25-24 in favor of the Lions at the break.

The second quarter saw seven players get on the scoreboard for the Diplomats, with Brown leading the way with seven total points at halftime.

After the break, F&M retook the lead on a layup from Brown, but Penn St.-Harrisburg went on a scorching 11-0 run over the body of the third to take firm control of the game. Heading into the fourth, F&M trailed 47-34, a deficit that proved impossible to overcome.

Powers finished with 14 points, while Sarah Haddon also reached double digits for the Diplomats, scoring 12 on the night. Brown finished with nine, while Devandria Bernard and Anajha Burnett each contributed seven.

Powers, Haddon, and Bernard all pulled in six rebounds to control the boards for F&M. Haddon also recorded three assists and two blocks.

F&M returns to action on Tuesday, hosting York (Pa.) for its home opener. That game is set to start at 7:00 p.m.