LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (15-8, 6-6 CC) edged Muhlenberg (14-8, 5-7 CC), 56-52, in Wednesday evening's Centennial Conference (CC) contest at the Mayser Center. A late surge from the Mules gave the visitor's a one-point lead in the final minute of regulation, but five points from the Diplomats in the closing 41 seconds sealed the win for F&M in front of the home fans.

The win marks the first time Franklin & Marshall has reached 15 wins in a season since the 18-win 2011-12 campaign. The victory is the ninth win for the Diplomats inside the Mayser Center this season, which is the most since the 2007-08 season.

Tied at 24-all with 4:17 remaining in the first half, Muhlenberg scored seven-straight points to take a 31-24 lead. Kayla McCrea broke the stretch with a jumper to cut the deficit to five at the start of the final minute. A free throw from Kennedy Wilburn in the closing seconds reduced the Mules' lead to 31-27 at the halftime intermission.

F&M continued its success on offense into the second half as Ally Trebelev and Wilburn made layups on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at 31-all. Muhlenberg held a 33-32 advantage with seven minutes remaining in the quarter when F&M began a 12-2 run to close the frame. Lauren Rusas started the stretch with a layup, followed by a pair of free throws from Wilburn to give F&M a 36-33 lead. Mackenzie Ward scored the next five points for the Diplomats, but the Mules responded with a layup on the other end to cut the F&M lead to 41-35. Ward capped the run by splashing her second three-pointer of the game to give the Diplomats a 44-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Franklin & Marshall led by nine with 6:28 remaining in regulation when Muhlenberg started a 13-3 run to give the visitors a 52-51 advantage at the start of the final minute of play. From that point the Diplomats took over with Lizzie Neville making a layup to put F&M ahead by one. Ward and Wilburn combined for three free-throws in the final 17 seconds of the contest to secure the victory for the Diplomats.

Franklin & Marshall shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field as a team in the win. The Diplomats as outrebounded the Mules, 45-43, in the game.

Trebelev led F&M with 18 points and three three-pointers in the win. Ward was impressive throughout the evening, tallying 11 points off the bench. Wilburn ended her night with nine points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Neville became the 15th player in program history with 200 career assists as she reached the mark with four assists in the contest.

Franklin & Marshall gears up to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday when it hosts No. 18 Johns Hopkins at 1:00 p.m.