LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team gets set to begin the 2025-26 season this weekend hosting Lycoming on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to kickstart a three-game home stand. Head coach Brianna Spector enters her fifth season at the helm of the F&M women's basketball program and will look to follow up a year where the Diplomats reached 15 wins for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.

Franklin & Marshall's roster consists of three seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, and three first-year players. The Diplomats return just two from last year's starting five with Quinn Galligan, Ally Trebelev, and Kennedy Wilburn all graduating from the College in the spring of this year.
 
Returners
G l Hailey Cabanas – Sr.
G l Lizzie Neville – Sr.
F l Lauren Rusas – Sr.
F l Lian Aviles – Jr.
G l Kayla McCrea – Jr.
F l Steph Sexton – Jr.
F l Gia Sioutis – Jr.
G l Mackenzie Ward – Jr.
C l Cleo Dallaris – So.
G l Sophie Levine – So.
C l Lucie Racicky – So.
Newcomers
G | Sam Lehman - Fy.
G | Gianna Modica - Fy.
G | Fiona Reckner - Fy.

Guard
The returning guards are led by Lizzie Neville, who appeared in all 25 games with 24 starts and 803 minutes played last season. Neville was named Second Team All-Centennial Conference (CC) following the 2024-25 year, averaging 12.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game. The senior shot 36.9 percent from the field and 29.4 from beyond the arc, while leading the CC with a free throw percentage of 85.1 percent. Neville is currently 218 points away from becoming the 19th Diplomat to join the 1000-points club.

Kayla McCrea and Mackenzie Ward are both projected to see key minutes this year as both players appeared in all 25 games off the bench last season. Averaging 17.8 minutes per game, McCrea shot 34.3 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc last winter. Ward averaged 16.8 minutes per game, while recording a field goal percentage of 31.7 percent.

Hailey Cabanas and Sophie Levine return as options at guard with both players seeing playing time last season. Cabanas appeared in seven games, while Levine played in nine games during the 2024-25 campaign. The Diplomats also welcome three first-year players in Sam Lehman, Gianna Modica, and Fiona Reckner who look to play big minutes at guard this season.

Forward
Leading the F&M forwards is Lauren Rusas, following a season where she appeared in 25 games with 24 starts. Averaging 20.2 minutes per game, Rusas registered 4.2 points per game with a shooting percentage of 36.1 percent. The senior also averaged 2.9 rebounds per game and collected 15 blocks during the season. Gia Sioutis played in 21 games last winter, averaging 14.5 minutes, 3.0 points, and 0.8 rebounds per game. Sioutis also shot 30.9 percent from the field and 70.0 percent from the free throw line. Steph Sexton saw action in 23 games last year, averaging seven minutes per game. Sexton recorded a shooting percentage of 24.3 percent, averaging 1.3 points per contest. Lian Aviles also returns as an option at forward, appearing in nine games over the last two seasons.

Center
Lucie Racicky appeared in seven games, while Cleo Dallaris played in six games last season. Racicky scored her first-career points in the win over Salisbury, while Dallaris made a collegiate-debut in the victory over Eastern last year.

In The Polls
F&M was selected to finish sixth in the Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll with 52 points. #8 Johns Hopkins holds the top spot with 97 points and seven first-place votes, while four-time defending Centennial Conference champion and No. 24-ranked Gettysburg is second with 94 points and four first-place votes. To view the complete poll, click here.

Looking Ahead
The Diplomats' 2025-26 schedule features 13 home games, 10 away contests, and two neutral site games. Following F&M's game against Lycoming on Saturday, the Diplomats host Lebanon Valley (Nov. 13) and Drew (Nov. 15) to round out the home stand. Franklin & Marshall plays its first road game of the season on November 18 when it travels to play York (Pa.). The Diplomats return to the Mayser Center for the annual Terry Greene Tip-Off Tournament, taking on Lancaster Bible (Nov. 21) and Delaware Valley (Nov. 22).

F&M plays at Centenary on November 25 before beginning CC action at Swarthmore on December 3. The Diplomats continue their road trip at Gettysburg (Dec. 6) before playing in the Montclair State Tournament, facing Neumann (Dec. 29) and SUNY New Paltz (Dec. 30).

Franklin & Marshall begins the new year on the road at Misericordia (Jan. 3), before returning home to host Haverford (Jan. 7). The Diplomats travel to play McDaniel (Jan. 10), followed by a three-game home stand against Gettysburg (Jan. 14), Johns Hopkins (Jan. 17), and Ursinus (Jan. 21). F&M plays at Dickinson (Jan. 24) and Washington College (Jan. 28), followed by home games against McDaniel (Jan. 31), Salisbury (Feb. 4), and Bryn Mawr (Feb. 7). The Diplomats travel to play at Muhlenberg (Feb. 11) and Johns Hopkin (Feb. 14) before wrapping the season at home against Dickinson (Feb. 18).

The Centennial Conference Tournament will run from February 24 through March 1. The NCAA Tournament will begin on March 6, and this year's NCAA Tournament National Championship will be played March 21 at the Cregger Center in Salem, Va.

Follow Along (Streaming)
All F&M home contests are streamed in HD at centennialconference.tv/godiplomats. Live stats will be available during each contest by clicking on the appropriate link in the schedule page.

Follow Along (Social Media)
All of your favorite Diplomat athletic teams are available on social media. Follow them on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, like them on Facebook and subscribe to the Diplomats YouTube page.