LANCASTER, PA -- Senior guard Meghan Tait (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) became Washington College's all-time leader in career assists as the visiting Shorewomen defeated host Franklin & Marshall, 63-54, in a Centennial Conference women's basketball game tonight in Lancaster, PA. The win was the fifth in a row for the Shorewomen (7-4, 2-4 Centennial), who broke the Diplomats' (8-3, 5-1) eight-game win streak.
F&M led by as many as nine points in the first half, but a lay-up by Tait with four seconds to go in the period trimmed the margin to 29-26 at halftime.
The Diplomats maintained a lead between two and seven points until the Shorewomen evened the score at 39-39 on a steal and lay-up by senior guard Sally O'Donnell (Cape May Court House, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) with 10:05 remaining. O'Donnell then gave Washington its first lead of the half, one the Shorewomen would not relinquish, by draining a three-pointer with 9:14 left to make the score 42-39. The Shorewomen went on to lead by as many as 11 points.
Tait's school-record breaking 398th career assist came on a lay-up by junior center Erin Kile(Benton, PA/Benton) with 15:16 left in the first half, breaking the previous record of 397 set byYianna Patronas from 2000-04. She finished the game with five assists, giving her exactly 400 for her career as she became just the eighth woman in Centennial Conference history to reach that mark. She also scored 12 points and brought down a 10 rebounds in the win.
Tait's 10 rebounds matched the 10 pulled down by sophomore forward/center Latisha Pledger(Chesapeake, VA/Indian River) for game-high honors. Pledger led the Shorewomen in scoring with 15 points, while Kile added 10 points.
Alexa Barbush led all scorers with 17 points for Franklin & Marshall. Elizabeth Snyder chipped in 10 points for the Diplomats.
The Shorewomen's five-game win streak is their first since the 2008-09 season. Tonight's win was their second straight road victory over an opponent with a lengthy win streak; Washington won at Catholic, 65-61, to break the Cardinals' nine-game win streak on Saturday.
The Shorewomen return to action Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. Centennial Conference home game against Gettysburg.