Franklin Pierce Holds Off RINDGE, N.H. (January 23, 2007) – Franklin Pierce, ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Division II Northeast Regional rankings, held off a late Assumption College rally for a 61-58 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at the Fieldhouse tonight. Freshman Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) notched her fifth 30-point outing of the season as she led all scorers with 31 points (17 first half), hitting 10-of-17 shots from the field, including 3-6 from three-point range, and converting 8-9 free-throws for the night. She also totaled eight rebounds, six steals, five assists and a blocked shot. No other Raven reached double-figures, but junior Megan McIntyre (Wattleglen, Australia) collected season-highs of nine points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, while sophomore Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) chipped in seven points, three assists and three steals. Junior Charde Floyd (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) led a pair of Assumption scorers to reach the 20-point plateau with a season-best 22 points as she hit 8-of-12 shots from the field and converted 6-8 free-throws to go with six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Freshman Kayla Parker (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) also collected a season-high with 20 points to go with a team-best seven rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Trish Gardner (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) chipped in nine points and six assists off the bench.
The teams traded the lead over the opening minutes, but Franklin Pierce led by as much as nine points in the first half (30-21) after a Johannah Leedham three-pointer capped an 8-0 spurt with 3:20 to play. Assumption drew within six at the break (33-27) and wrapped a 12-3 run around halftime to force a 33-33 tie after a pair of Floyd free-throws 4:08 into the second half. The Ravens regained a seven-point edge (48-41) after a pair of Leedham free-throws with 7:08 left, but the Greyhounds drew even for a second time (52-52) after a Gardner three-pointer with 2:38 left. Assumption took its first lead since early in the contest (54-53) with a Gardner jumper with 2:09 to go. Leedham converted a conventional three-point play off her own steal to put the Ravens back in front for good (57-54) with 58-seconds to go. She hit her last four free-throw attempts over the final 23-seconds to hold off the Greyhounds as the Ravens defense limited their guests to just one layup down the stretch. Franklin Pierce shot 40.8-percent (20-of-49) from the field, including 48.1% (13-27) in the first half, while Assumption shot 41.1% (23-56), but hit just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from three-point range. Both teams turned the ball over 24 times, but the Ravens enjoyed a 27-16 scoring advantage off the miscues, while they also posted a 33-31 rebounding advantage. Franklin Pierce (15-5, 11-4 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it hosts the College of Saint Rose, among teams receiving votes in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, in a key NE-10 clash at 1:30 p.m. Assumption (7-11, 5-9 NE-10) visits UMass Lowell on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. |
