DALLAS, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's basketball team (8-4, 1-1 CC) fell on the road to Misericordia (5-6), 57-43, in Saturday afternoon's non-conference matchup. The Cougars gained an early edge on the scoreboard and grew their lead from there, leading wire-to-wire in the contest.

Misericordia jumped out to a 5-2 lead three minutes into the game, but two free throws from Lauren Rusas cut the deficit to one. After a three-pointer from the Cougars, Mackenzie Ward made a layup to reduce the margin to 8-6. The home team added five points in the final two minutes, but Kayla McCrea made a layup in the closing seconds to cut Misericordia's lead to 13-8 through 10 minutes of play.

The teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter as F&M trailed 17-12 with three minutes remaining in the frame. Steph Sexton knocked down a basket to get the Diplomats within three. After Misericordia answered with two free throws, Hailey Cabanas splashed a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two with 2:14 remaining in the quarter. Despite the big basket, the Cougars matched with a three of their own in the final seconds to take a 22-17 lead into halftime.

Misericordia started the third quarter strong on offense, growing its lead to 28-17. F&M battled back with a jumper from McCrea and a layup from Lizzie Neville to reduce the deficit to seven. After two Misericordia free throws made the score 30-21, Gia Sioutis scored the next four points of the game to get the Diplomats within five. However, Misericordia scored five-unanswered points of their own to take a 35-25 lead into the final quarter.

The Cougars led 43-31 halfway through the frame when F&M began its final push. Sioutis knocked down a jumper and later made a layup to get the Diplomats within eight. A free throw from Fiona Reckner cut the deficit to seven, but that was as close as F&M came to catching Misericordia on the scoreboard. The Cougars started a 9-1 run to extend its lead to as large as 15, closing out Saturday's contest.

The Diplomats struggled to make baskets throughout the afternoon, shooting 24.6 percent (16-of-65) from the field and 11.5 percent (3-of-26) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Misericordia shot 46.7 percent (21-of-45) from the field in the game. F&M played tough defensively, forcing 24 total turnovers in the effort.

Sioutis led F&M with 10 points and six rebounds in the game. Neville followed with eight points, three assists, and two steals. McCrea also tallied eight points with 10 rebounds and two steals in the contest.

Franklin & Marshall returns to the Mayser Center on Wednesday, hosting Centennial Conference (CC) foe Haverford at 4:00 p.m.