Feb. 22, 2003

Box Score

LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall missed a three pointer in the final seconds as the Johns Hopkins women's basketball team held on for a 63-60 win in the final regular season game of the season this afternoon in the Mayser Center.

The Blue Jays improved to 19-5 overall with their eighth straight win, while the Diplomats finish the season 13-10 overall and 7-7 in the Centennial Conference. Hopkins, which won the Centennial West Division for the eighth time in nine years with a 13-1 conference mark, will host Swarthmore in the semifinals of the Centennial Playoffs on Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Hopkins led 47-32 at the 13:29 mark of the second half following a short jumper from sophomore forward Ashanna Randall (Media, PA/Penncrest). Franklin & Marshall responded with a 23-7 run over the next seven minutes and took a 55-54 lead on two free throws by Amy Abernathy with 6:54 remaining. Three free throws for Hopkins and a basket by F&M tied the scored at 57-57 at the 3:35.

Senior center Kathy Darling (Milford, DE/Milford) broke the tie with 2:46 left, but Abernathy answered with a three-point play to give the Diplomats a 60-59 advantage at the 2:17 mark. Sophomore guard Ashley Felix (Pittsburgh, PA/North Catholic) then nailed two free throws with 2:07 remaining to give Hopkins the lead for good and senior guard Ashley Shepler (Tornado, WV/Charleston Catholic) provided the final points with two free throws.

The Blue Jays opened the game on a 9-2 run and led 21-10 at the 10:46 mark of the first half following a basket by Darling. JHU extended the lead to 17 points on two occasions before taking a 38-24 lead at the half. Hopkins shot 51 percent (16-of-31) in the opening half, while F&M was held to 26 percent (x-for-x).

Shepler and Randall each finished with 16 points for Hopkins, while Darling recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Randall also grabbed eight rebounds and collected a team-high three assists, while Shepler registered four steals. The trio of Darling, Randall and Shepler combined to shoot 18-of-29 from the field, including a 4-for-5 effort by Shepler on three pointers.

Abernathy led all scorers with 22 points for Diplomats and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Courtney Tierney also reached double figures with 13 points and added three assists and four steals. Jamie Drahos scored nine points and collected two steals.

Box Score 1 2 -F
Johns Hopkins (19-5, 13-1 Centennial) 38 25 -63
Franklin & Marshall (13-10, 7-7 Centennial) 24 36 -60