CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (2-3, 0-3 CC) fell short in its comeback effort, 43-42, on the road against Washington College (3-2, 1-1 CC) in Thursday evening's Centennial Conference (CC) contest.  

Trailing 43-34 with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, Lizzie Neville and Quinn Galligan knocked down jumpers on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to five. Galligan then went two-for-two at the free throw line, followed by a jumper from Gia Sioutis to make the score 43-42 with 1:26 on the clock. Despite holding the Shorewomen without a basket in the final 3:55 of the game, the Diplomats couldn't overtake Washington College in the final moments of the contest.

F&M faced adversity early in the game as the Diplomats trailed 18-11 with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. Kayla McCrea connected on a jumper to stop a 6-0 run from the Shorewomen. F&M continued to build momentum as Neville swiped a steal and laid it in on the other end to get the visitors within three. After the teams traded baskets to make the score 20-17, Ally Trebelev scored the next four points of the game to give F&M the lead. However, that would be the final time the Diplomats would hold the lead as Washington College chipped-in two points in the final seconds to take a 22-21 advantage into the halftime break.

Franklin & Marshall kept pace with Washington College in the second half, but couldn't gain an edge. F&M erased a six-point deficit to get within one after Neville drained a three-pointer three minutes into the third quarter. After the Shorewomen extended their lead to 34-31 in the final minute of the third frame, Galligan took a steal coast-to-coast to get the Diplomats within one heading into the final quarter.

Neville led F&M with 12 points, while recording five rebounds, one assist, and one block. Neville also finished one shy of her tying her career-high in steals with six in the contest. Galligan and Jaclyn Feit each registered eight points each, with Feit nabbing five rebounds and blocking four shots.

The Diplomats as a team shot 34.8 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, F&M swiped 16 steals in the game.

Franklin & Marshall returns to the Mayser Center Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to host Bryn Mawr.