LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (7-2, 1-1 CC) suffered its first loss in Centennial Conference (CC) play this season as it fell to No. 12 Gettysburg (9-0, 1-0 CC), 70-51, Saturday afternoon inside the Mayser Center. The Bullets were dominant on the offensive boards, grabbing 15 rebounds for 17 second-chance points to pull away from the Diplomats in the contest. The Bullets also outrebounded F&M, 46-28, in the game.

A cold start shooting from the field put F&M in a hole early, being outscored 13-6 in the first quarter. Gettysburg led 9-2 with 3:18 remaining in the first when Kennedy Wilburn made a layup and knocked down two free throws on the following possession to cut the deficit to three. However, the visitors chipped in four points to close the quarter.

A layup from Ally Trebelev got the Diplomats within five to start the second quarter, but Gettysburg started a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 25-12 at the 6:19 mark. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch as the Bullets held a 33-19 lead with one minute remaining in the half. Kayla McCrea made a layup with 20 seconds on the clock, but a basket at the buzzer from Gettysburg gave the visitors a 35-21 advantage at the halftime break.

Wilburn scored the first four points for the Diplomats in the second half to match two baskets from the Bullets, keeping the margin at 14. A layup from Mackenzie Ward at the 6:20 mark reduced the deficit to 12, but Gettysburg slowly started pulling away from F&M as it led by 17 with 1:43 left in the quarter. Gia Sioutis beat the buzzer with a jumper as Gettysburg held a 48-33 lead going into the final quarter.

F&M battled in the fourth quarter by shooting 46.2 percent (6-of-13) in the frame, but Gettysburg knocked down 50 percent (7-of-14) of its shots from the field to reach its biggest lead of the game at 21 points.

As a team, Franklin & Marshall shot 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the field and 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe in the game.

Wilburn led the Diplomats in scoring with 13 points, while also recording four rebounds in the contest. Quinn Galligan and Lizzie Neville both tallied 10 points in the loss. Neville also finished her game with a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.

Franklin & Marshall looks to rebound when it plays two games at the Music City Classic in Nashville, Tennessee. The Diplomats first game of the tournament will be on Thursday, December 19 against Lynchburg. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.