Franklin Pierce BOCA RATON, Fla. (December 29, 2006) – Franklin Pierce, among teams receiving votes in the most recent WBCA/USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches Poll, collected a hard-fought 55-47 victory over New York Institute of Technology on day one of the Doubletree Guest Suites Holiday Classic, hosted by Lynn University, at the de Hoernle Center this afternoon. With the victory, Franklin Pierce reaches the ten-win mark and is off to a 10-2 start for the first time since the Ravens last NCAA Tournament campaign in 1998-99. The Ravens overcame a 38.5-percent (20-for-52) shooting performance from the field and a 45-31 rebounding disadvantage by forcing 31 New York Tech turnovers for an 18-12 edge in points off turnovers. Franklin Pierce shot 32.1% (9-28) in the first half, but recovered for 45.8% (11-24) in the second, and hit just 3-of-19 (15.8%) three-point attempts on the afternoon. Franklin Pierce was again led by the Leedham sisters as sophomore Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) netted a game-high 13 points to go with seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) was held to a season-low 12 points, shooting 4-of-8 from the field, but added a team-high eight rebounds and four steals. The Northeast-10 Conference’s leading scorer’s (26.0 ppg) output was stunted by just eight minutes of playing time (27 total) in the first half after picking up two quick fouls.
Senior Nicola Dalton (Danbury, Conn./Ridgefield) added eight points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks for the Ravens. Senior Anette Johansen (Oslo, Norway) led NYIT with 12 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and two steals. Freshman Madison Robertson (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) added ten points and four rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench for the Bears, while sophomore Alexis Tyson (Roosevelt, N.Y./Roosevelt) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench. New York Tech shot just 34-percent (17-of-50) from the field themselves, including 3-of-12 (25%) shooting from three-point range, and hit just 32.1% (9-28) of its shots after halftime. NYIT opened the second half with an 11-2 run, sparked by a Johansen three-pointer, to erase a three-point halftime deficit (24-21) and take its largest lead of the game (32-26) 5:30 into the stanza. Franklin Pierce responded with six-straight points to tie the score (32-32) after two Johannah Leedham free-throws with 11:06 to play. The Ravens continued from there to build a game-high ten point advantage (51-41) after a steal and layup by Leedham with 2:11 left. Franklin Pierce kept the game close by making just 2-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final 92-seconds. Franklin Pierce (10-2, 7-1 NE-10) rounds out the calendar year tomorrow against Northwood University of Florida on day two of the Classic at 1 p.m. NYIT (3-7) faces host Lynn tomorrow at 3 p.m. |
