UMass Lowell Clinches Home 
Spot Over Franklin Pierce, 54-47
Ravens home court hopes dashed by 
25 turnovers, 32.6-percent shooting

LOWELL, Mass. (February 21, 2005) – The University of Massachusetts Lowell erased a nine-point first half deficit and posted a 54-47 victory over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at Costello Gymnasium tonight.

            The win clinches a home playoff game for UMass Lowell (15-12, 12-10 NE-10), who could still move up into sixth place with a Bryant loss at Merrimack tomorrow night. Franklin Pierce (13-13, 10-12 NE-10) is still alive for a home game, but needs Saint Rose to lose at Saint Michael’s tomorrow, which would force a three-way tie between the Ravens, Saint Rose and Stonehill (who lost to Assumption tonight) and bring the NE-10 tiebreaker into effect. NE-10 Tournament pairings will be officially announced on Thursday.

            Junior Sacha Simms (Newmarket, Md./Norristown Area (Pa.)) led UMass Lowell with 13 points as she hit five-of-nine shots from the field and grabbed three steals. Classmate Mariette Guillaume (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) added 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks, while senior Enjoli Edwards (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) registered six points and nine rebounds.            

Sophomore Mollie Stelmack (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) led Franklin Pierce with 14 points (10 first half), six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Junior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) added 11 points, nine rebounds (six offensive) and two assists, while freshman Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) finished with ten points and four boards.

            Sophomore Danielle D’Ettorre (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/St. Mary’s) and senior CiCi Williams (Boston, Mass./East Boston) registered eight and seven rebounds, respectively, for the Ravens, who out-rebounded UML 41-22 for the contest. Franklin Pierce pulled down 14 offensive rebounds, but was done in by a season-high matching 25 turnovers, which resulted in 18 River Hawk points.

            Franklin Pierce held a nine-point lead (20-11) with 6:57 remaining in the first half after a 10-0 run. Jacobs and Stelmack sparked the run with three-pointers, while Stelmack also added a pair of free throws for five points during the stretch.

            UML responded with an 8-0 spurt to close within a point after an Emily Kordas (Hillsboro, N.H./Hillsboro-Deering) lay-up with 4:43 left in the stanza. Kordas opened the second half with a lay-up to put the River Hawks on top (26-25).

            The game was tied (36-36) with 6:59 to play after Ravens junior Maria Clifton (New York, N.Y./St. Michael’s Academy) hit one of two free-throws, but UMass Lowell opened a six-point advantage (46-40) with 4:35 to play after a Lindsay Woodfield (Brick, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) three-pointer.

            A Stelmack jumper with 3:14 to play brought the Ravens within a pair, but Guillaume buried a three-pointer on the River Hawks next possession to put them up five with 3:08 left. Franklin Pierce was back within three (50-47) after a Lidke three with 28-seconds left, but UML hit its last four free-throw attempts to seal the win.

                Franklin Pierce is scheduled to round out its regular season on Wednesday with a non-conference game at Green Mountain College at 7 p.m.

BOX SCORE