WORCESTER, Mass. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (4-5, 1-5 CC) used a big second half to roll past Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) (3-4, 2-0 Liberty League), 76-56, in Friday evening's non-conference game at the WPI Holiday Classic.

F&M jumped out to an early advantage thanks to a huge 16-2 run in the opening quarter of the contest. Lizzie Neville, Jaclyn Feit, and Quinn Galligan all scored on consecutive possessions to give the Diplomats a 10-4 lead with 6:48 left in the first frame. After the Tigers converted a layup, F&M responded with Feit going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Ally Trebelev added onto the F&M lead as she hit a free throw and drained a jumper to push the Diplomats' lead to 15-6. Feit made a layup that was followed by a three-pointer from Hope Schreiber to cap the run and give Franklin & Marshall a 20-8 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Tigers fought back in the second quarter as RIT outscored the Diplomats 23-10 to take a 31-30 lead into the halftime break.

The Diplomats' offensive attack caught fire out of halftime with Feit leading the charge by scoring F&M's first eight points in the third quarter. Neville converted a layup on back-to-back possessions to give F&M a 42-35 lead. After Kayla McCrea drilled a three-pointer, Trebelev scored the next six points to extend the lead to 16. RIT narrowed the gap with a 7-2 run in the final three minutes, but the Diplomats held a 53-42 lead entering the final quarter.

Feit and Trebelev continued to make baskets in the fourth quarter as the two made jumpers on consecutive possessions to put F&M ahead 57-44. RIT pieced responded with four quick points of its own, but Trebelev and Schreiber drained back-to-back threes to push F&M's lead to 15 with six minutes left in regulation.

The Diplomats shot 61.3 percent from the field in the second half to power past the Tigers.

Feit and Trebelev ended the game with each scoring a game-high 18 points, while Feit corralled a team-high six rebounds. The 18 points for Trebelev marked her career-high for a single game. Neville also finished with double-digit scoring figures with 10 points, while dishing out a team-leading six assists.

Franklin & Marshall shot 56.1 percent (32-for-57) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from beyond the arc, and 88.8 percent (8-for-9) from the free throw line.

F&M wraps up the WPI Holiday Classic against William Smith Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Diplomats' final game of 2023.