ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team held the halftime lead on Saturday at Muhlenberg, but a strong third quarter from the Mules proved too much to overcome in the 63-56 defeat. The Diplomats outscored the hosts during three of the four quarters, but could not overcome a 12 point deficit during the third quarter.

F&M took its first lead of the game with a pair of made free throws from Ally Trebelev and the Diplomats would hold the upper hand on the scoreboard for the remainder of the half. The game remained a one possession affair for most of the opening minutes, with the 7-0 run to open the scoring giving F&M its largest lead of the day at five points. A three-pointer from Natalie Kolb pushed the score to 7-2, while a layup from Trebelev matched that advantage at 9-4.

The Diplomats led 13-11 after the opening quarter before Muhlenberg rallied to tie the game at 15 and later 17-all. Following that briefly tied battle, Franklin & Marshall matched its largest lead of the day with a 6-1 run that was capped by an old-fashioned three point play from Trebelev. A pair of free throws from Jaclyn Feit just before the break helped to give the visitors at 25-22 advantage after 20 minutes of play.

After the intermission, Franklin & Marshall was still holding a 27-26 edge after Kenna Williams found her way to the basket in the paint. However, Muhlenberg took control midway through the third quarter with a 13-2 run that left F&M facing a 10 point deficit, 39-20. F&M regained its composure later in the period but was still facing a 44-35 deficit with one quarter to play.

The Diplomats cut that lead down to five, 46-41, with seven minutes remaining in regulation following a layup from Williams. The game was still a five point difference, 50-45, with just over minutes remaining before the Mules ran off five straight points to claim another double figure adavantage, 55-45, with under two minutes to play. Kolb and Alisyn Narracci both hit three-pointers on the two ensuing F&M possessions, but the Mules made eight of their final 10 free throws to preserve the 63-56 Centennial Conference victory.

Franklin & Marshall held a slight advantage in shooting percentages and rebounding, but a 21-9 advantage for Muhlenberg helped swing the final score in the hosts favor. Williams finished with yet another double-double as she scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Kolb and Feit who each had 11 points on the afternoon. Feit also added six rebounds and four blocks to her stat line while Kolb also pulled down six boards.

Women's basketball will wrap up its season next week with a pair home of games against Dickinson (6 p.m.; Wednesday) and McDaniel (1 p.m.; Saturday). The final regular season game against the Green Terror will also be Senior Day for the Diplomats.