Jan. 29, 2003

Box Score

BALTIMORE, MD - Four players scored in double figures as the Johns Hopkins women's basketball team used a balanced attack to pull away from Franklin & Marshall, 76-56 this evening in Centennial Conference action in Goldfarb Gymnasium.

The Blue Jays improved to 12-5 overall and 6-1 in the conference, while the Diplomats lost their fourth straight game to fall to 9-7 overall and 3-4 in league play.

Hopkins scored the first five points of the game and took a 12-4 lead on a layup by sophomore guard Ashley Felix (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) at the 15:22 mark. The Diplomats battled back with a 14-4 run to take an 18-16 advantage on a jumper by Ann Parker. JHU answered with a 20-6 run to close the opening half with a 36-24 lead.

F&M scored the first six points of the second half to cut the margin to eight at 38-30, but the Diplomats would get no closer the rest of the contest. Sophomore guard Alissa Burkholder (Allentown, PA/Salisbury) nailed a three pointer to cap a 17-5 run as JHU increased the lead to 55-35 with 9:14 left in the game.

Felix tied her career-high with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. She added a career-high three blocks as Hopkins rejected a season-high nine shots. Senior center Kathy Darling (Milford, DE/Milford) also scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Burkholder and sophomore forward Ashanna Randall (Media, PA/Penncrest) each tallied 11 points, while senior guard Ashley Shepler (Tornado, WV/Charleston Catholic) registered a game-high five assists to go with six points.

Amy Abernathy tallied a double-double for the Diplomats with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Abernathy also totaled three assists, three blocks, and six steals for the evening. Francesca DiFazio added eight points, while Courtney Tierney chipped in with seven points. F&M shot just 33.8 percent for the game and committed 18 first-half turnovers en route to 25 for the game.

The Blue Jays return to action Saturday as Hopkins travel to face Ursinus in a Centennial Conference game beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Box Score 1 2 -F
Franklin & Marshall (9-7, 3-4 Centennial) 24 32 -56
Johns Hopkins (12-5, 6-1 Centennial) 36 40 -76