ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (4-7, 1-5 CC) fell in its Centennial Conference road matchup against Muhlenberg (5-5, 4-1 CC), 78-69, Wednesday afternoon. The Diplomats battled hard throughout the game, but were outscored 29-19 in the final frame to drop to the Mules.

Behind 49-44 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter, F&M pieced together a 9-0 run that began with Jaclyn Feit knocking down a pair of free throws. After Quinn Galligan made a layup with six seconds in the frame, Kennedy Wilburn stole the inbound pass and connected with a mid-range jumper to give the Diplomats a 50-49 lead as time expired in the quarter.

Galligan began the fourth quarter knocking down a three-pointer to give the Diplomats a four-point advantage. The teams traded baskets before Muhlenberg scored five unanswered points to take a 59-55 lead with 6:17 left in the game. Abby Meredith made a layup to cut the Mules' lead to 59-57 with 5:50 remaining in regulation, but the two-point deficit was the closest F&M came to tying the game. Meredith knocked down two free throws to cut Muhlenberg's lead to 63-59. From that point, the Mules began a 9-3 run to put the game away.

F&M led early in the contest as the Diplomats jumped out to a 32-25 lead through the first 20 minutes of play. Ahead 26-22 with 6:06 left in the first half, Lizzie Neville made a mid-range jumper to extend the Diplomats' lead to six. After Muhlenberg connected with a three-pointer, Hope Schreiber responded with one of her own just two minutes later. Abby Meredith sank a free throw to put F&M up by seven for its biggest lead of the game heading into the halftime break.

Wilburn had a great game as she finished with 17 points and 20 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Her 20-rebound performance is tied for ninth in the program record books for a single-game as Kenna Williams '22 collected 20 rebounds against Elizabethtown last season.

Neville also finished with 17 points, while also draining two three-pointers in the game. Feit tallied eight points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in the contest. F&M as a team shot 38.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.

The Diplomats look to bounce back as they return to the Mayser Center to face Swarthmore Saturday at 1:00 p.m.