Southern Connecticut State 
Tops Franklin Pierce 
in Conference Opener, 58-48
Owls own glass to tune of 51-29 rebounding margin, 
get balanced offense

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 23, 2004) – Southern Connecticut State University out-rebounded Franklin Pierce, 51-29 – including 20-7 on the offensive glass, in claiming a 58-48 victory in the Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball opener for both tonight at the Moore Fieldhouse.

            Senior Carla Vasquez (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) came off the bench to register a game-high 14 points, on five-of-eight shooting from the floor and 4-6 at the line, and eight rebounds (five offensive). Classmate Kim Jackle (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) added 13 points, four assists and three steals, while junior Kristi Stolle (Warren, Conn./Wamogo) contributed seven points and eight boards. Junior Anabel Perdomo (Lawrence, Mass./Gov. Dummer Academy) chipped in nine points, three assists and two steals.

            Freshman guard Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) paced Franklin Pierce with 14 points (nine second-half), five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore Mollie Stelmack (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) added 11 points, three assists and two steals, while junior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) came off the bench for nine points. Junior Maria Clifton (New York, N.Y./St. Michael’s Academy) grabbed a game-best nine boards.            

Southern Connecticut used a 14-5 run midway through the first half to open an 11-point lead (26-15) with just under eight minutes to play before the intermission. Jackle sparked the run with a conventional three-point play and freshman LaShauna Jones (Middletown, Conn./Middletown) canned a three-pointer before junior Aminah-Joy Jones (Mesa, Ariz./Scottsdale CC) capped the stretch with a jumper.

            Franklin Pierce answered with ten-straight points over the next three minutes to pull within a point with 5:15 to play in the stanza. Jacobs paced the run with seven points, while Stelmack drained a three-ball during that stretch.

            However, the Owls scored the last eight points of the half to take a 34-25 advantage into the lockerroom and opened up a 16-point cushion just five minutes into the second half after a Jackle layup. The Ravens closed within nine (46-37) after a Clifton layup with 12:32 to play, but Southern quickly pushed its lead to 17 with 7:22 left in regulation after back-to-back three’s from Stolle and Perdomo and the Ravens were only able to get back within eight points with 58-seconds to play.

                Franklin Pierce (2-1, 0-1 NE-10) returns to action next Wednesday, December 1, when it travels to Manchester to face Southern New Hampshire University at 5:30 p.m. Southern Connecticut (2-0, 1-0 NE-10) visits American International College on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE