Box Score
(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's basketball team went right down to the wire with visiting Franklin & Marshall, but suffered a 46-41 setback on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening four minutes before the Diplomats answered with a 10-2 run to pull in front, 14-10. Sophomore guard Ellen Bair (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) drove to the hoop for a lay-up and first-year Mackenzie Skerritt (Hightstown, N.J./The Peddie School) made a strong move in the paint to pull the Devils even.
Following a four minute scoring drought as both teams clamped down on the defensive end, Sarah Haddon made a steal and fed Anajha Burnett for a lay-up at the 1:55 mark. She converted a pair of free throws to put F&M in front, 18-14.
Bair closed out the half with another bucket to make the score 18-16 at the break. Senior Leslie Bacile knocked-down a three-pointer for F&M to open the second half. Junior Sam Kennedy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) answered with a strong move in the paint and scored off a steal and assist by Bair to pull the Devils within one.
Sophomore Mairead Donahue (Trumball, Conn./St. Joseph) grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. She hit both free throws to put Dickinson in front, 22-21, with 16:30 remaining in the game.
First-year Kassidy Lesher (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg) added a pair of free throws and Bair buried a three-pointer to give the Devils a 27-25 advantage. Lesher combined with sophomore Mary Martin (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) to help keep Dickinson in front, holding a 34-31 lead with 8:38 left to play.
Bacile knocked-down a three-pointer at the 7:11 mark to put the Diplomats in front, 36-34. Dickinson regained the lead behind free throws from Kennedy and Bair. Erica Brown scored for F&M to put the visitors up, 38-37, with 5:48 remaining in the game.
Similar to the first half, the game saw a scoreless four minute stretch. Lesher tied the game for the 10th time, hitting a free throw with 1:43 on the clock. Haddon broke the tie and Erica Brown made a steal to give the Diplomats a three-point advantage with just under a minute to play.
Bacile added a pair of free throws after a Dickinson turnover to stretch the margin to five. Bair scored to cut the lead to three and the Devils regained possession after a pair of missed free throws on the other end.
Martin was fouled and hit one-of-two foul shots to make the score 43-41, with 33 seconds to play in regulation. The Diplomats would hold on down the stretch, hitting 3-of-4 free throws to secure the win.
Bair led the Red Devils with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Martin was just shy of double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds, adding three blocked shots and a steal. Kennedy tallied eight points and Lesher finished with six points and seven rebounds.
Haddon led the Diplomats (4-11, 2-7) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brown added 11 rebounds and a pair of steals as well.
The Red Devils (3-12, 1-10) are home again on Saturday, hosting Swarthmore College at 2:00 pm.
