GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team outscored a Messiah team that was receiving votes in the latest national polls during the final three quarters of play on Monday evening. Neverthless, those strong final 30 minutes were not enough to overcome a tough first quarter in the team's first live action in nearly one full month as F&M fell by a 63-48 score.

That strong play was highlighted by the Diplomats more than doubling up the Falcons, 14-6, during the final 10 minutes of action. Alisyn Narracci led F&M in its return to the courts after the holidays, going 5-for-7 from the field for 13 points. She was followed closely in the scoring column by Jaclyn Feit's 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Kenna Williams dominated the boards for the Diplomats, pulling down 15 rebounds while also coming away with eight points.

Despite those impressive performances, it was not enough as the Diplomats took some time to get back into their rhythm. F&M went over seven minutes before Narracci knocked down a three-pointer for the team's first points as the visitors trailed 21-3 after the first quarter. F&M corrected many of those first quarter mistakes during the final 10 minutes of the opening half, but were still facing a 38-19 deficit heading into the locker room.

Strong defensive play held the Falcons to just 3-of-17 shooting during the final quarter while the Diplomats closed the game with their strongest quarter of the evening. In the end, that deficit proved too much to overcome in the 63-48 setback. F&M's strongest offensive quarter came right out of the halftime break as the team shot 6-of-12 from the field during that period as Feit and D'Naisha Bellamy-Greene combined for a perfect 5-for-5 quarter from the field.

Tonight's contest marked the final non-conference matchup of the regular season as the Diplomats will now turn their full attention to the remaining Centennial Conference slate. F&M returns to conference play this this Wednesday at 6 p.m. versus Muhlenberg. Live stats and live video will be available to follow that contest as F&M's updated spectator policy restricts attendance at home events to current faculty, staff, and students who are compliant with the College's vaccination and testing policies.