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LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall center Amy Abernathy (So., Far Hills, NJ/American School Paris) scored 17 points and pulled down 17 boards as the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats went wire to wire in a 62-44 romp in the Mayser Center over Swarthmore College to move into first place in the Centennial Conference Western Division. Due to a 68-52 loss by Johns Hopkins at Muhlenberg, F&M moves into first place in the CC Western Division, while Muhlenberg moves into first place in the CC East due to front-runner Swarthmore's loss in the Mayser Center. The Diplomats would lead the entire game as Abernathy won the opening tip leading to a Jamie Drahos (Jr., Ambler, PA/Wissahickon) lay-up which put F&M up 2-0. F&M would build a 21-8 lead just 8:08 into the first half, capped by an Amy Kreitz (Sr., Allentown, PA/Salisbury) three-pointer as Swarthmore never closed within nine points during the remainder of the game. Overall, Kreitz would finish with 17 points and six rebounds as the Diplomats held a 51-36 advantage on the boards. Senior Lauren Howanski (Gap, PA/Pequea Valley) chipped in five assists and nine points off a three-of-six performance from behind the arch as the Diplomats converted five-of-11 shots from long range. The key to the game would be F&M's furious start and Swarthmore's first half ball handling as the Garnet committed 13 first half turnovers, directly leading to 14 of F&M's points in the first twenty minutes. Defensively, F&M held the Garnet to the lowest number of field goals allowed by a Diplomat basketball team during the 2001-02 season as Swarthmore scored on only 10-of-48 opportunities from the floor. The mark betters the previous low of 11 set by Bryn Mawr in a 93-27 loss to the Diplomats on November 20 in the Mayser Center. For the Garnet, Cailtin Ryland scored 12 points to lead Swarthmore, while Heather Kile tallied a team high 13 rebounds. Kile, the Centennial Conference scoring leader with 19.6 points per game, would be held to nine points. Katie Robinson, who ranks second in the Conference with 19.4 ppg, would not appear in the game as she was scratched in pre-game warm-ups. F&M, which improves to 15-4, 8-2 in the Centennial Conference, has not lost since a 82-69 defeat at Western Maryland on December 4 as the Diplomats have overcome a 3-4 start. Swarthmore, which falls to 16-5, slips to 9-2 in the Conference. To date, F&M has not trailed in a game since 42 seconds into a 70-5 win over Western Maryland on Wednesday as the Diplomats have led their opponents for over 79 minutes. Franklin & Marshall will continue the season on February 6 at Gettysburg College, a team F&M defeated 76-66 in the Mayser Center. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
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