NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (8-2, 1-1 CC) opened the Music City Classic with a 67-56 victory over Lynchburg (4-5, 2-1 ODAC) Thursday evening in the Student Activities Center at Welch College. Lizzie Neville led the way with 16 points and career-high 13 rebounds to earn her second-career double-double.

Lynchburg jumped out to an early lead in the contest as the Hornets led 9-2 with 3:02 left in the first quarter. From that point, F&M began an 8-2 run with Mackenzie Ward drilling a free throw and Ally Trebelev making layups on two-consecutive possessions to start. After Lynchburg made a layup in the final minute, Trebelev connected on a three-pointer to cut the Hornets' lead to 11-10 after one quarter of play.

Lynchburg started the second quarter with a layup 20 seconds into the period. F&M responded with a jumper from Neville and two free throws from Kennedy Wilburn to hand the Diplomats their first lead of the day, 14-13. Both teams traded baskets to bring the score to 20-all with one minute remaining in the half. Trebelev knocked down a jumper and Lynchburg made a free throw in the final minute to give F&M a 22-21 lead entering the halftime break.

Tied 33-all with 4:24 left in the third quarter, Franklin & Marshall scored 13-consecutive points to jump in front of Lynchburg in the contest. Neville started the run by scoring the first five points of the stretch. Kayla McCrea followed by splashing three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give F&M a 44-33 advantage. Neville made a layup to extend the lead to 13 before Lynchburg scored three points to stop the run. Wilburn made a layup with 33 seconds left in the quarter, but the Hornets scored four points in the final 10 seconds of the frame to give F&M a 48-40 lead entering the final quarter.

Lynchburg made it a six-point game with 8:16 remaining in regulation, but the Diplomats started a 13-2 run to pull away from the Hornets. Trebelev knocked down a free throw, followed by Wilburn making a layup to push the lead to 53-44. Ward made a layup and Neville connected on a three-pointer to give F&M a 14-point advantage. The Hornets responded with a layup, but F&M came right back with a free throw from Trebelev and a jumper from McCrea to make the Diplomats' lead 61-46. Gia Sioutis capped the run with two free throws to give F&M its largest lead of the game at 17 points.

As a team, Franklin & Marshall shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field in the win. The Diplomats also outrebounded the Hornets, 45-39, in the game. In addition to Neville finishing in double figures, Trebelev and Wilburn tallied 14 points each in the contest.

Franklin & Marshall looks to go undefeated during its Nashville trip when it plays Babson on Friday at 2:00 p.m. in the final game of the Music City Classic.