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LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College center Amy Abernathy (Jr., Far Hills, NJ/American School-Paris) scored 26 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, including 12 points and 10 boards in the second half, as the Diplomats held on for a 77-70 win over McDaniel College in Centennial Conference women's basketball action. The Diplomats never trailed in the game as F&M built a 6-0 lead behind back-to-back-to-back field goals by Abernathy. McDaniel rallied for a field goal by Kris Brust and a pair of free-throws by Kelly Cramp to pull within 6-4, but F&M pulled away to build a 10-point margin and lead 41-25 at halftime. In the second half, the Green Terror used a 9-0 run behind field goals by Brust and Kelly Cramp and free throws by Toby McIntire (2-2), Jen Piccolomini (2-2) and Cramp (1-1) to cut the lead to 41-34 1:52 into the half. Kirsten Richter (Sr., Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing) drained a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10-points, but McDaniel reeled off a 12-4 run, capped by a lay-up by Stephanie McPherson, to pull within 48-46 with 13:40 to play. The two teams exchanged baskets before Cramp corralled a steal and laid in a basket to cut the F&M lead to one point at 51-50 with 11:51 left on the clock. But Abernathy took over the game during the next four minutes converting three-of-four free throws and hitting a short jumper to key an 11-4 run to push the lead back to eight points. McDaniel cut the lead to six with 2:35 to play, but F&M converted seven-of-11 free throws down the stretch to seal the seven-point win. Overall, Abernathy hit four-of-seven field goal opportunities and four-of-seven free-throw chances in the second half while pulling down 10 rebounds, including six defensive boards, as F&M overcame a 46-point explosion by the Terror to hold out for their second Centennial Conference victory of the season. A key to the game was the guard play of Richter and Courtney Tierney (Jr., Princeton, NJ/The Hun School) as the pair chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively. In the first half, Richter knocked down four-of-four from the field, including two-of-two from three-point range, for nine points, while Tierney dropped in six points off two-of-seven from three-point range and dished out seven assists to pace the Diplomats offense. Guard Dana Johns (Fr., York, PA/ Eastern York) sparked F&M with nine points and three steals in 31 minutes as the Diplomats held McDaniel to a 35.7 shooting percentage in the first half (10-of-28) and 44.3 percent (27-of-61) for the game. Offensively, the Diplomats drained 16-of-30 from the floor in the first half, 28-of-56 for the contest to record a season high 50.0 shooting percentage. For McDaniel, Cramp (16), McIntire (13), Brust (12), Piccolomini (10) and Jacqueline Pundt (10) reached double-digits in scoring as the Terror fall to 5-2, 1-2 in Centennial Conference play. Franklin & Marshall College (5-2, 2-1 Centennial Conference) will return to action on January 2-7 as the Diplomats travel to the Bahamas Goombay Shootout. F&M will return to the continental United States on January 8 at Elizabethtown College. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
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