LANCASTER, Pa. – A 9-0 run to start the second half and a 25-11 advantage in the third quarter proved to be enough for Johns Hopkins on Tuesday night, defeating Franklin & Marshall 79-58 in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball. The Diplomats fell to 8-13, 6-10 CC with the defeat, while the Blue Jays improved to 10-10, 9-7.

A tight first half saw F&M enter the third quarter trailing by just one, 31-30. However, that deficit quickly grew to 10 as Hopkins got five points from Caroline Corcoran to fuel a 9-0 run and give the visitors a 40-30 lead. A three from Ashlyn Petersen and a basket from Kristin Hamill stemmed the tide, but another 6-0 run by the Jays later in the third turned into a 56-41 lead for Hopkins after three. Seven offensive rebounds powered the JHU production in the period.

A jumper from Sarah Haddon opened the scoring in the fourth, but the Diplomats were unable to generate any momentum as the Blue Jays maintained a lead of at least 15 the rest of the way. Two quick buckets from Petersen and one from Haddon closed the gap to 67-52 with 5:18 left, but the deficit did not shrink any further as Hopkins held on for the 79-58 win.

Haddon finished with a team-high 15 points on the night to go along with eight rebounds. Erica Brown added 12 points and a game-high 11 boards for her first double-double of the season, while Petersen also reached double-digits with 10 points.

The first half told a different story, as neither team held a lead greater than four in the first quarter. F&M led by as much as three after a triple from Haley Pilone and a basket from Haddon, but the back-and-forth action saw the Blue Jays lead 20-16 after one.

A pair of free throws from Haddon gave F&M a slim 26-25 lead with 5:05 left in the second, but two quick buckets from Marissa Varnado helped Hopkins to the slight 31-30 lead at the break.

The Diplomats look to return to their winning ways on Thursday, hosting McDaniel at 7:30 p.m. in the Mayser Center.