LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (2-0) rolled to a 72-49 victory over Lebanon Valley (1-2) in Thursday evening's non-conference contest in the Diplomats' home opener. F&M surged to an early lead and never let up as the Diplomats outscored the Dutchmen in every quarter of the game.

LVC scored the first two points of the game, but F&M came right back with Lizzie Neville converting an and-one to give the Diplomats a 3-2 lead. Franklin & Marshall built off the momentum with a jumper from Mackenzie Ward and a three-pointer from Neville to push the lead to six. Ward followed with a three-pointer of her own and Steph Sexton knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 13-2. After LVC ended the run with two free throws, Hailey Cabanas drilled a jumper to put the Diplomats up by 11.

The Dutchmen chipped away at the F&M lead to start the second quarter, cutting the deficit to three with 3:16 remaining in the period. From that point, the Diplomats took over with Neville knocking down two free throws and Sexton splashing a three-pointer to give the home team a 25-17 lead. After LVC made a pair of free throws, Fiona Reckner and Cabanas drilled threes on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 12.

LVC started the second half cutting the F&M advantage to eight at the halfway point of the frame, but the Diplomats continued to find success on offense. Neville made a layup, followed by Cabanas scoring the next seven points to push the lead to 43-26. Gianna Modica capped the run by converting an and-one to put F&M ahead by 20 before the end of the quarter.

Both teams exchanged baskets to start the fourth to bring the score to 58-41 at the halfway point of the frame. Neville and Cabanas drained back-to-back threes to give F&M its largest lead of the day at 23 points.

The Diplomats shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field, 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from beyond the arc, and 72.0 percent (18-of-25) from the free throw line.

Neville led the game with 19 points and three three-pointers. Cabanas followed with a career-high 15 points, three three-pointers, and three steals. Cabanas and Ward also grabbed a team-high five rebounds apiece in the contest.

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