Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's women's basketball team earned a key, hard-fought victory over Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference (CC) action on Saturday, 62-61. The Diplomats improved to 11-12, 9-9 CC while the Mules fell to 10-13, 8-10 CC.

Muhlenberg scored the game's first two baskets en route to taking an early 17-10 lead at 3:13. F&M closed out the frame on a 5-2 run behind three Kristin Hamill points, cutting the deficit to 19-15 before the second quarter.

After allowing the Mules to make the first shot of the second period, going up 21-15, the Diplomats clicked to score nine unanswered points to take a 26-21 edge. F&M passed Muhlenberg on an Emily Moran three-pointer at 6:21. The Mules answered with a 5-0 run to tie the score at 26 points apiece. The two sides traded baskets, tying the game four more times before the break, as the teams entered halftime in a 34-34 draw.

The Mules couldn't shake the Diplomats early in the third, taking just a four-point lead at 5:21. F&M rolled for an 11-2 stretch over the stanza's final five minutes, capped by a Moran three-pointer as the third quarter's clock expired. The Diplomats held a 51-46 lead going into the fourth.

F&M continued its torrid pace to open the final frame. The Diplomats opened up the fourth with an 8-2 run, marking a 19-4 run dating back to the middle of the third quarter. A Hamill layup at 5:58 marked the end of the run as the Diplomats claimed a 59-48 lead, the largest of the night. The Mules chipped away to get the defect all the way down to two points, 61-59, with 51 seconds to go. A layup by Muhlenberg's Margaux Eripret capped the 11-2 surge.

Neither team could convert for much of the game's final minute, but a Parsons free throw with nine seconds left proved key, extending F&M's lead to three points, 62-59. The Mules scored one more basket - a layup by Ashley Polera –with less than two seconds to spare to cut the deficit to just one point before F&M ran off the final ticks of the clock to take the 62-61 victory.

Hamill's 18 points led all scorers. The senior also picked up a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double.

Parsons was a key cog in all facets of the game for F&M, pouring in 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field along with a 6-for-9 showing at the charity stripe. Along the way, the senior added four helpers and tallied two rebounds, blocks, and steals apiece.

Alisyn Narracci went 3-for-4 from both the field and the free-throw line for nine points.

F&M got to the free-throw line 25 times on Saturday, converting 18 attempts. The F&M defense allowed just an 8-of-9 showing at the stripe from Muhlenberg. The Diplomats also owned a 28-23 advantage on the defensive glass.

Johns Hopkins comes to Lancaster for a 6:00 p.m. CC tilt on Wednesday, as F&M looks to secure a spot in the CC Tournament.