LANCASTER, Pa. – Senior Emma Dorshimer(Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) scored 28 points and sophomore Meredith Brown (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry) recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds as 19th-ranked Gettysburg College opened Centennial Conference play with a 63-53 victory at Franklin & Marshall College on Tuesday night.
 
Gettysburg (3-1, 1-0 CC) began the defense of its conference championship with a hard-fought victory over Franklin & Marshall (1-3, 0-1 CC). It was the 13th-straight victory by the Bullets over the Diplomats.
 
Two days removed from a career-high 37 points against Lebanon Valley College, Dorshimer remained red-hot, hitting 10-of-21 shots, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. The senior guard added seven rebounds, four assists, and a blocked shot. Dorshimer is just three three-pointers shy of Gettysburg's career mark of 186 held by Dana Bear '04.
 
Brown provided a perfect complement to Dorshimer inside, setting personal highs for rebounds and points. She was 5-of-9 from the floor. Freshman Seanna McNamara (Berwyn, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) hit all four of her shots for a season-high 11 points. Junior Ashley Gehrin (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) added eight points and six rebounds.
 
Sarah Pisani led Franklin & Marshall with 14 points. Sarosha Parsons and Haley Pilone added 13 and 11 points, respectively, while Kenna Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.
 
Only four players from both teams accounted for points in the opening quarter of play. The Bullets ended the frame with the final seven tallies, including back-to-back buckets by Dorshimer to pull in front 11-6.
 
The offense spread out a bit more in the second period with Gettysburg holding onto its lead. The Diplomats tied things up at 18-18 on a lay-up by Pisani, but Brown came right back with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Bullets back in front. The visitors carried a 24-22 advantage into the half.
 
Dorshimer knocked down a three-pointer to open the third quarter and the Bullets were off and running, racing out to a 38-25 advantage following a free throw by Gehrin with 5:51 left in the period. F&M managed to stem the tide and pulled within eight (45-37) heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The eight-point lead maintained in the early minutes before being sliced down to three (49-46) following a three-point play by Pisani and a lay-up by Parsons at 6:15. A lay-up by McNamara pushed the advantage back to five, but Parsons made the most of a second-chance opportunity following an offensive board by knocking down a pair of free throws to set the score at 51-48 with 5:45 to go.
 
Dorshimer led her team's next charge, accounting for five of the next seven points as the margin grew to 10 (58-48) with 3:27 remaining. The Diplomats would get no closer than six the rest of the way.
 
Gettysburg finished 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) from the field, but only 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from the free throw line. The Bullets held the Diplomats to 33.3 percent from the floor, including just 1-of-16 from beyond the arc.
 
Gettysburg hosts Ursinus College next Tuesday at 7 p.m.