Abernathy Posts 20 Boards and 19 Points as Diplomats Rout Elizabethtown, 81-60

by Sports Information
1/7/02

LANCASTER, PA -- Center Amy Abernathy (So., Far Hills, NJ/American School-Paris) pulled down 20 rebounds, including 14 in the first half, and posted 19 points in 27 minutes of play as the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats defeated Elizabethtown College, 81-60, in non-conference women's basketball action.

For Abernathy, the performance marked her seventh double-double of the season and the second in as many games as she poured in 12 points and tore down 12 rebounds in a 73-57 win over Drew on Saturday.

Through ten games, she has recorded double-doubles against Waynesburg (23 points, 15 rebounds), Lycoming (21 points, 19 rebounds), Gwynedd Mercy (16 points, 13 rebounds), Western Maryland College (16 points, 15 rebounds), Muhlenberg (16 points, 11 rebounds), Drew and Elizabethtown.

She would barely miss making history in the second half as she fell just five rebounds shy of the all-time school record of 25 set by Wendy Stabolepszy in 1978.

Statistically, her mark ties Anne Krumrine '90 (vs. Elizabethtown, 2/7/87; vs. Lebanon Valley, 1/31/89) and Tina Breithaupt '94 (vs. Marywood, 2/9/91; vs. Ursinus, 2/25/92) for the four most rebounds in a game, just behind three players who tallied 21 and Krumrine who corralled 22 boards in a February 24, 1987 game against Muhlenberg College.

Further, team captains Amy Kreitz (Sr., Allentown, PA/Salisbury) and Lauren Howanski (Sr., Gap, PA/Pequea Valley) moved up the all-time scorers list at the College as the pair finished with 22 and 20 points, respectively.

Kreitz, who connected on 10-of-18 shots, became only the fifth player in school history to score 1,300 points in a career as she raised her career total to 1,311 points. With the total, Kreitz surpassed Breithaupt for fifth place all-time at the College in scoring and moved within 192 points of erasing the fourth place mark of Laurie Baker '78 who registered 1,502 points.

Howanski, who moved into tenth place all-time at the College in scoring against Drew, inched closer to the ninth place mark of 1,034 points set by Aurora Gonzalez '97 as she raised her career total to 1,026 points. Overall, Howanski drained seven-of-12 field goal chances, including three-of-five from three-point distance, as the Diplomats built a 36-28 lead in the first half and never looked back.

Elizabethtown, which never led in the game, would shoot 12-of-31 in the first half (38.7%), while F&M, behind 15 first half points from Abernathy, connected on 14-of-37 field goals to pull away.

In the second half, the Diplomats used smothering defense to cage the Blue Jays as Elizabethtown turned the ball over 19 times and F&M registered 14 steals to spark the Diplomats offense.

In the offensive end, Kreitz punched in eight-of-12 second half field goal shots for 17 points, while Howanksi knocked down five-of-seven from the field, including two-of-three from beyond the arch, and dished out six assists as the Diplomats pushed the lead to as many as 24 on their way to the victory.

Elizabethtown was led by four players in double-digits as Mary Wismer scored 13, Stephanie Scinto 11 and Tameka Jackson and Jessica Smith with 10 points. Lindsey Raquet was the high women on the boards for the Blue Jays with 10 as Elizabethtown falls to 3-6, 1-1 in the Middle Atlantic Conference.

For F&M, the win marked their first over Elizabethtown in three years as the Blue Jays defeated the Diplomats in 1998, 1999 and 2000. In addition, the win improves F&M's all-time record against Elizabethtown to 12-19 as the Diplomats had not defeated the Blue Jays since a 53-50 victory in front of 175 people in the Mayser Center on January 21, 1997.

The two teams did not meet in 2001 due to inclement weather, the only time that a game between the two schools has been called due to poor weather conditions.

Franklin & Marshall (6-4, 1-2 Centennial Conference) will begin the second half of the conference season at Ursinus College in the first half of a men/women's double-header on January 9. Opening tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.