SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team used a furious fourth quarter rally at Swarthmore to cut what was a 20-point halftime deficit into a six-point battle with under a minute to play. Unfortunately for the Diplomats, the Garnet made their free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 62-49 Centennial Conference victory.

Kenna Williams recorded up her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Diplomats. Kennedy Wilburn and Alisyn Narracci both added eight points to the F&M effort as six different Diplomats finished with at least five points during the balanced offensive attack. On the contrary, Swarthmore was highlighted by a trio of double figure scorers, led by Dan Bandurick's 20 points.

The Garnet jumped out to the lead by winning each of the first two quarters as they led 36-22 at the halftime break. That deficit grew to as many as 20 points at 45-25 with 4:59 remaining in the third quarter before the Diplomats mounted their comeback. Defense certainly paved the way for the rally as F&M held Swarthmore without a point for the remainder of the quarter and were down by just 13, 45-32, heading into the final 10 minutes.

F&M continued its defensive shutdown by holding the Garnet to just 2-of-11 from the field in the fourth quarter. A jumper from Narracci had the deficit under 10 for the first time since the opening half with 5:24 remaining in regulation. That was part of an 8-0 run that trimmed the deficit down to 49-42 with 4:29 left on the clock. The Diplomats went on to score 10 of 11 points during that strech as Williams hit a jumper of her own with 3:32 left in regulation, setting the score at 51-44. With time running down, F&M was forced to foul to extend the game and Swarthmore was able to go 13-for-16 at the free throw line during the fourth quarter. The game score did however come as close a six points, 55-49, after Natalie Kolb hit a three-pointer with 53 seconds to play.

The Diplomats will return home this Thursday to take on first-place Gettysburg at 6 p.m. in part of another Centennial Conference doubleheader with the men's team. As a reminder, attendance is restricted to current faculty, staff, and students who are compliant with vaccination and testing policies. Live video and live stats will be available to follow the game on GoDiplomats.com. The team will be back on the road next Saturday at McDaniel.