Box Score (Lancaster, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's basketball team held off a late run by host Franklin & Marshall, hitting six straight free throws to secure a 74-63 victory on Wednesday night.
The first quarter never saw a lead of more than two points with the Diplomats holding a 14-13 advantage at the end of the opening 10 minutes. First-year Halle Maeda (Santa Monica, Calif./Mira Costa) put the Red Devils on the board before sophomore Hannah Heiring (Wayzata, Minn./Wayzata) scored the next eight points to lead the way.
Heiring scored and then hit a three-pointer to start the second quarter, keeping the Devils in front. Senior Kassidy Lesher (Shoemakersville, Pa./Hamburg) took over in the paint, leading Dickinson to a 34-29 lead at halftime.
Lesher kept up the pace in the third quarter with Emily Padalino (West Sand Lake, N.Y./Albany Academy) and Lauren McBride (Trenton, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) adding to the offense.
The Devils built the lead to 11 at the end of the third and maintained the margin for the better part of the fourth. F&M made a late run, but solid free throw shooting from Lizzie Becker (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Friends), Maeda and Lesher closed out the game.
Lesher had a huge night, netting a career-high 27 points and recording her 17th double-double of the season, adding 14 rebounds while going 9-for-13 from the free throw line.
Heiring scored 19 points while Padalino was just shy of double figures, scoring nine points, going 4-for-4 from the field. McBride tallied seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Maeda added eight points, two assists, a block and a steal.
Kristin Hamill led F&M with 22 points as they fall to 9-15 overall and 6-13 in the Centennial Conference.
The Red Devils improve to 9-15 overall and 9-10 in the conference. They travel to Washington College for the regular season finale on Saturday at 2:00 pm.
