READING, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall outscored Alvernia 24-8 in the second quarter en route to a 63-47 victory on Friday night in nonconference women's basketball. The Diplomats improved to 5-6 with the victory, while the Crusaders fell to 0-14 on the year.

Down 7-5 after one quarter of play, the Diplomats opened the second with a 12-2 run courtesy of seven points from Erica Brown. F&M didn't stop there, beginning with a three pointer from AnnMarie DiCarlo at 5:21. Six different scorers contributed to a 12-3 run as the Diplomats closed out the half with a 29-15 lead.

The early minutes of the third quarter brought more of the same as Sarah Haddon, Haley Pilone and Sarah Pisani all scored to give F&M a 36-15 advantage. The hosts stopped the bleeding throughout the third, but five points from Ashlyn Petersen in the final 1:12 of the quarter gave the Diplomats a 48-28 lead entering the fourth.

After and early F&M burst, Alvernia came back within 20 at 50-30 with 8:21 remaining, but a bucket from Shannon O'Connor and a triple from Petersen returned the lead to 25 with 7:44 left. The Crusaders made a brief run in the closing minutes, but six points from Devandria Bernard and a bucket from Julia Rusk eventually iced the 63-47 victory.

Pilone posted a team-high 13 points with a 3-for-9 mark behind the arc, while Petersen also reached double digits with 10.

Erica Brown narrowly missed out on a double-double, recording a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points. Kristin Hamill pitched in seven boards as well as five points off the bench.

The Diplomats outrebounded Alvernia by a 46-34 margin, and recorded 19 assists on the night, compared to eight from the Crusaders.

F&M returns to action on Tuesday, taking on Muhlenberg in a Centennial Conference matchup at 6:00 p.m.