LANCASTER, Pa. – An early first half run gave Franklin & Marshall a comfortable lead en route to a 64-47 victory over Swarthmore in Centennial Conference (CC) women's basketball action Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats (17-6, 13-4 CC) extended their win streak to five games while the Garnet (8-14, 6-12 CC) dropped their fifth in a row.

Swarthmore struck first getting the first basket of the game, however, F&M responded immediately as Alexa Barbush converted a lay-up at 18:18 to tie the game. From there, the Diplomats went on a 22-7 run through-out the next nine minutes to take a 15-point advantage with 9:40 remaining in the half.

The Diplomats continued their dominance through-out the rest of the half, leading by as many 20 points, 34-14, at the 6:06 mark. The Garnet put together a sequence of their own in the last four minutes of the period. Swarthmore pulled within 12 points of the Diplomat lead, 38-26,  before Allison Bauer drained a three-pointer just before the half to take a 41-26 lead into the break.  

Controlling the rest of the game, F&M maintained its double-digit lead and extending it by as many as 21 points, 60-39, with seven minutes remaining in the game. The Diplomats led by at least 17 points the rest of the way as they cruised to the win.

F&M converted 19 points off of 22 Garnet turnovers and turned 17 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points to Swarthmore's six.

Bauer paced the Diplomats with game-highs of 19 points and four steals, while Barbush contributed 18 points. Megan Pauley pulled down eight rebounds and had a game-high three blocks.

Elle Larsen led the way for the Garnet with 16 points and seven boards, while Katie Lytle added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Diplomats return to CC action on Tuesday when F&M travels to Johns Hopkins for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.