HAVERFORD, Pa. – A 16-5 deficit following the first quarter proved to be too much for Franklin & Marshall, falling to Haverford 50-32 on Tuesday night in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball. The Diplomats fell to 3-10, 2-5 CC, while the Fords improved to 8-4, 3-2 with the victory.

Haverford jumped out to an 8-0 lead before F&M responded with a Sarah Haddon layup to make the score 8-2. Minutes later Lindsey Powers hit a three to make the score 10-5, but a 6-0 run gave the Fords a 16-5 lead after one.

A pair of threes from Haley Pilone and a layup from Erica Brown allowed the Diplomats to cut the lead to seven, 20-13, with 3:12 left. The momentum continued as Pilone made a jumper with 49 seconds left, but F&M still trailed 22-15 at halftime.

The early minutes of the third quarter saw Haverford knock down a pair of threes, putting together an 8-3 run to open a 30-18 lead. The Diplomats fought back with three points from Brown and another triple from Pilone, but after the third quarter the Fords led 35-21.

F&M held tough early in the final period, cutting the lead to 13 with 7:44 remaining, but Haverford regained control with a 9-0 run and coasted to the final horn.

Pilone paced the Diplomats with 17 points, knocking down five treys on the night. Powers led F&M on the glass, pulling in 10 rebounds.

Sierra Berkel tallied 15 points to lead the Fords.

The Diplomats return to action on Thursday, hosting Johns Hopkins for a 6:00 p.m. matchup.