Pledger Scores Career-High 20 Points in Road Victory

LANCASTER, PA -- Visiting Washington College dominated the game from the opening tip en route to a 77-54 Centennial Conference women's basketball victory over host Franklin & Marshall College tonight in Lancaster, PA. The 77 points are a season high for the Shorewomen, who improved to 8-10 overall and 6-7 in conference play with the win, and the 23-point margin of victory is their largest ever over the Diplomats, who fell to 11-9 and 9-6 with the loss. Freshman forward/center Latisha Pledger (Chesapeake, VA/Indian River) scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win for Washington.

The Shorewomen raced out to a 17-2 lead in the game, building the 15-point bulge on a three-pointer by freshman guard Kelly Mitchell (Laurel, MD/Academy of the Holy Cross) with 9:52 left in the first half. Washington led by as many as 20 points later in the half and took a 36-18 lead into the intermission. The Shorewomen out-rebounded the Diplomats, 24-7, in the first half and shot 17-for-31 from the field, while the Diplomats were just 7-for-26.

Washington scored seven of the first eight points in the second half to increase the lead to 44-19 on a free throw by junior guard Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with 16:17 left in the game.  The Shorewomen led by at least 19 points the rest of the way. 

The Shorewomen finished the game with a 47-25 advantage on the boards and shot 31-of-62 from the field for the game while holding the Diplomats to 19-of-63 shooting. 

Pledger shot 8-for-10 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the foul line in 23 minutes en route to her 20 points. O'Donnell added 15 points and 11 rebounds, while junior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists and sophomore center Erin Kile (Benton, PA/Benton) added 10 points. Freshman forward Liz Warkala (New York, NY/Marymount School of New York) scored a career-high eight points and matched her career high of nine rebounds. 

Beth Holt scored 19 points to lead F&M, while Elizabeth Snyder added 10. Holt and Snyder shot a combined 12-for-25 from the field; the rest of the Diplomats were 7-for-38. 

The Shorewomen, who have won five of their last seven games, return to action Wednesday with a 6:00 p.m. Centennial Conference game at Haverford.