COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (12-6, 3-4 CC) overpowered Ursinus (10-7, 4-3 CC), 77-69, in Wednesday evening's Centennial Conference (CC) game at Helfferich Hall. The Diplomats overtook the lead halfway through the third quarter and didn't give it back as Lizzie Neville and Kennedy Wilburn each tallied 20 or more points in the victory.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams with multiple lead changes throughout the first 20 minutes of play. Ursinus held a 25-20 lead in the final seconds of the first quarter, until Quinn Galligan drained a jumper at the buzzer to cut the UC lead to 25-22 after one quarter.

F&M kept rolling on offense to start the second quarter as Ally Trebelev knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 25-all. The teams traded baskets throughout the period to bring the score to 36-all with four minutes until halftime. The Bears took a 39-36 advantage after a three-pointer, but Trebelev responded with a layup on the next possession to get F&M within one. Ursinus would capitalize down the stretch to take a 43-38 lead into the halftime break.

Trailing 49-48 with 3:20 left in the third quarter, F&M regained the lead on layup from Neville. Wilburn followed up with a fastbreak layup of her own on the next possession to put the Diplomats ahead by three. After Ursinus added two at the free throw line, Neville converted an and-one to give F&M a 55-51 lead with two minutes remaining. The junior continued her stretch with a layup on the next possession to push the lead to six. The Bears scored two layups in the final minute, but a jumper from Neville in the closing seconds sent F&M into the closing quarter with a 59-55 lead.

F&M led 67-65 with 3:26 remaining in regulation when Wilburn took over on offense as she scored the next seven points for the Diplomats to extend the lead to 74-69. The Diplomats didn't allow the Bears to score in the final two minutes as free throws from Trebelev and Mackenzie Ward iced the game for F&M.

Franklin and Marshall shot an impressive 50 percent (32-of-64) from the field in the game, including 53.9 percent (7-of-13) from the field in the fourth quarter. The Diplomats also shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc in the win.

Neville led the game with a career-high 27 points and four steals. Wilburn followed with career-best 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the contest. Lauren Rusas also finished the game with double-digit points as she recorded 10 points with two three-pointers. As a team, F&M forced 20 turnovers leading to 24 points in the win.

Franklin & Marshall looks to build on the momentum when it hosts Dickinson on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.