Win is Washington's First-Ever in Lancaster

LANCASTER, PA – For the second time this season the Washington College women's basketball team saw a large second-half lead whittled away by Franklin & Marshall. Tonight, however, the visiting Shorewomen held off the Diplomats to post a 61-56 win, their first-ever in Lancaster in 12 tries.

The Shorewomen (6-7, 4-4 Centennial) led by as many as 13 points in the first half following a pair of free throws by freshman guard Maggie King (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase) with 1:31 remaining which gave Washington a 29-16 cushion. Six F&M free throws trimmed the margin to 29-22, but a three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with 17 seconds to go in the half granted the Shorewomen a 32-22 advantage at the break.

Washington opened the second half with an 11-3 run as the lead increased to 43-25 on a lay-up by senior guard Jane O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with 15:59 left. The Diplomats (7-6, 3-5) trimmed the lead to 11 points, but the Shorewomen responded with a 7-0 run to take a 56-37 lead on a King lay-up with 7:17 remaining.

The Shorewomen still held a 59-41 lead with under six minutes remaining before the Diplomats reeled off 15 unanswered points to cut the lead to 59-56 on a jump shot by Alexa Barbush with 1:18 to go. Both teams came up empty on their respective ensuing possessions and sophomore guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) made a pair of free throws with 18.9 seconds left to seal the win.

Jane O'Donnell led all scorers with 17 points, while sister Sally added 12 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. Freshman center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton) scored 11 points and brought down a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocked shots for the victors. Tait tallied eight points, eight assists, and 11 boards.

Beth Holt led the Diplomats with 16 points, four assists, and four steals, while Barbush and Megan Pauley each had 10 points for F&M.

Neither team shot well from the field as the Shorewomen were 20-of-61 and the Diplomats were 16-for-53. The Shorewomen, the top free-throw shooting team in the conference, were 14-of-16 at the line, while F&M was 20-for-28. Washington held a commanding 45-31 advantage on the glass, including a 16-10 margin on the offensive end.

Earlier this season, F&M came back from a 15-point second-half deficit to record a 54-53 win over the Shorewomen in Chestertown.

Washington returns to action Thursday with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home game against Dickinson.