(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's basketball team overcame a tough second quarter, outscoring visiting Franklin & Marshall 21-9, to start the second half. They went on to win their sixth straight game, claiming a 65-52 decision on Wednesday night at the Kline Center.

The Diplomats struck first, knocking down a three-pointer, right out of the gate. The Red Devils answered with a 7-0 run and later went in front, 13-10, on back-to-back three-pointers from Helen Roberts (Oakton, Va./Oakton) and Jackie Joyce (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley).

Joyce added a free throw to give the Devils a 14-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Diplomats chipped away after Kassidy Lesher (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg) scored to start the second, and pulled even at 18-18, with 3:24 remaining in the half.

F&M went up by one before Mary Martin (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) and Lindsey Zwecker (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) traded jumpers with Erica Brown to lead, 22-21. The Diplomats scored the final six points of the half to take a 27-22 lead into halftime.

Dickinson came out of the locker room with new life, opening the second half with back-to-back triples from Roberts and senior Sam Kennedy (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) to put the Devils back in front 28-27.

Roberts made a strong move to the basket to convert a three-point play and combined with Lesher to hit four straight free throws, giving the Devils a 35-32 lead with 4:16 to play in the quarter. They would finish as strong as they started with Roberts and Joyce closing out the half with back-to-back three-pointers, putting Dickinson up, 43-36, at the end of the third.

Joyce stretched the lead to 10 early in the fourth, but F&M countered to cut the deficit to five. Joyce hit a three-pointer at the 3:01 mark to give the Devils another double-digit lead. The Diplomats continued to battle, coming within six on a three-pointer from Lindsey Powers in the final minute.

The Red Devils would secure the lead with solid free throw shooting down the stretch. They hit their final eight attempts from the line for the final of 65-52.

Roberts had another monster outing, scoring a game-high 19 points and coming just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. She went 8-for-9 from the free throw line and 3-for-4 from three-point range, adding a pair of steals.

Joyce finished with 17 points and six rebounds to go with three assists, hitting 3-of-5 from long range. Martin tallied eight points and eight rebounds while dishing out four assists on the night. Lesher added eight points and seven rebounds, and Jennifer Smith (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) gave the Devils quality minutes as well.

Brown led the Diplomats with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists as they slip to 4-14 overall and 3-9 in the Centennial Conference.

The Red Devils improve to 10-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play. They are on the road this weekend, traveling to Bryn Mawr College for a 2:00 pm start.