Box Score LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall outscored Washington College 20-7 in the third quarter and held on to defeat the Shorewomen 59-54 on Saturday afternoon in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball. The win improved the Diplomats' record to 1-7, 1-3 CC while Washington fell to 2-3, 0-2 CC with the loss.
Coming out of halftime the Shorewomen owned a 33-27 lead, which increased to 35-27 when Washington's Ali Grundy made a jumper to open the third. However, Erica Brown collected four quick points, keying a 10-2 F&M run over the next five minutes to pull even at 37-37.
A layup from Jordan Weir gave the Shorewomen a 39-37 lead, but the advantage was short-lived as four points from Shannon O'Connor powered the Diplomats to a 10-1 run to finish the quarter. After three, the Diplomats held a seven-point, 47-40 lead.
A 6-0 run early in the fourth brought Washington to within four at 49-45, but Anajha Burnett took over for F&M, scoring five straight points to slow the momentum of the Shorewomen. A Grundy trey cut the lead to three at 55-52, only to have Burnett counter with a deuce of her own. Two free throws from Washington's Alexis Krahling made it 57-54, and the Diplomats regained possession with 2:05 remaining.
The following possession saw F&M miss three shots, but Burnett, Lindsey Powers, and Sarah Haddon all collected offensive rebounds allowing the Diplomats to run the clock down to 21 seconds remaining before Washington sent Burnett to the line for two free throws. The sophomore converted both, and the resulting 59-54 lead proved to be enough as F&M took the victory.
The victory was not always a certainty for the Diplomats, as it was Washington that took control in the early moments, leading by as much as 11 at 15-4. After one quarter of play, the Diplomats trailed 16-9.
The Shorewomen stretched their lead to as much as 12, leading 24-12 with 7:23 left in the half, but soon thereafter F&M began to turn the tide. Devandria Bernard and AnnMarie DiCarlo each made a bucket, before Burnett and Sarah Pisani each hit a three to cut the deficit to 33-27 at halftime.
Burnett paced the Diplomats with 25 points, 11 of which came in the back-and-forth final period. She was followed by Brown with 13.
Brown completed her double-double by corralling 13 rebounds, while Haddon claimed nine and Burnett notched eight.
O'Connor put together a strong all-around performance, scoring six points while recording six boards, three steals, and a perfect 4-4 from the foul line.
Grundy led the Shorewomen with 18 points, while Krahling joined her in double figures with 10.
F&M returns to action on Tuesday, travelling to Swarthmore for a 7:00 p.m. battle with the Garnet.
