#19 Franklin Pierce to Host Le Moyne
in NE-10 Quarterfinal
Second-seeded Ravens begin postseason march Tuesday night
against seventh-seeded Dolphins

Head coach Mark Swasey and the 19th-ranked Ravens will look to match a program record for wins in a season on Tuesday night.

RINDGE, N.H. (March 3, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team, ranked 19^th in the most recent USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll and third in the NCAA II Northeast Regional rankings, opens postseason play on Tuesday night, when it hosts seventh-seeded Le Moyne College in quarterfinal round action of the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference Championships, presented by Spaulding, at the Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.

Franklin Pierce (23-4, 18-4 NE-10) is seeded second in the 12-team championship and earned a first round bye in the tournament for the first time since joining the Northeast-10 in 2000. The Ravens will host seventh-seeded Le Moyne (15-12, 11-11 NE-10) in one of four quarterfinals on Tuesday night. The Dolphins advanced to the quarterfinals with a 53-39 first round win over tenth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday afternoon in Syracuse, N.Y.

Admission for tomorrow’s NE-10 Tournament contest is $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for senior citizens, students with valid ID and children. Tomorrow’s game will also be broadcast live on WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and simulcast via the internet at www.franklinpierce.edu/athletics. Video coverage, produced by Franklin Pierce’s Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication, is available for $6.99 via www.ne10.tv.

The winner of tomorrow’s quarterfinal will advance to the semifinal round to face the winner of tomorrow’s night’s matchup between sixth-seeded Bryant University (18-10, 12-10 NE-10) and third-seeded Assumption College (21-8, 15-7 NE-10) at the home of the higher seed on Friday at 7 p.m. The NE-10 champion, who will receive an automatic bid in the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament, will be crowned on Sunday, March 9, at the highest remaining seed at 1 p.m.

Franklin Pierce, looking to match the program record for wins in a season (24) set in 1991-92 and also matched in 1997-98, ranks high among NE-10 team leaders in most statistical categories. The Ravens lead the Conference in scoring margin (+14.9), field goal percentage (.457), three-point field goal percentage (.384), assists (16.93/game), steals (12.33/gm) and forced turnovers (23.3/gm). They are also second in NE-10 in scoring (72.9 ppg), turnover margin (+3.00) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.285), fourth in scoring defense (57.0 ppg) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (.365). Franklin Pierce enters the postseason winners of a season-best eight straight after posting a perfect 7-0 clip in the month of February.

Franklin Pierce is led by sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)), an NE-10 Player of the Year candidate, who leads the Conference in scoring (22.1 ppg) and steals (3.4/gm), to go with team-high averages of 6.7 rebounds (12^th NE-10) and 4.2 assists (4^th). She is shooting 48.4-percent from the field (9^th), including 38.5% from three-point range (5^th), and has converted 82.8% of her free-throw attempts (6^th).

Junior Jennifer Leedham is second on the team with 10.7 points per game and ranks fourth in the NE-10 with 4.2 assists per contest.

Junior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) is adding 10.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists (4^th NE-10) and 2.0 steals (8^th) per game for the Ravens. Classmate Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) contributes 7.7 points off the bench and ranks fourth in the NE-10 with a .397 three-point shooting percentage. Senior Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) leads the NE-10 in three-point shooting at 46.8% and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. 

Franklin Pierce seeks its first NE-10 Tournament win since joining the Conference prior to the 2000-01 campaign. The Ravens are 0-5 all-time in the NE-10 Tournament, which includes a 77-55 setback at Le Moyne in the first round of the 2002 event. Franklin Pierce has dropped six-straight conference tournament contests in all, dating back to a 70-52 victory over the University of Bridgeport in the quarterfinal round of the 2000 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament.

Tomorrow marks the 26^th meeting all-time between these two programs, the third in postseason play and second in the NE-10 Tournament. Franklin Pierce holds a 16-9 advantage in the all-time series after the two teams split the regular season series – each winning at home.  The Ravens notched a 59-37 victory over Le Moyne at the Fieldhouse on December 4 behind 20 points, six steals, four steals and three assists from Johannah Leedham. The Dolphins registered a 68-64 overtime win in Syracuse, N.Y., on January 16 as junior Katie Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) led four players in double-figures with 18 points in 25 minutes off the bench. The two programs have split the two prior postseason encounters, with Le Moyne posting a victory in the lone NE-10 tournament contest referenced above.

Le Moyne, winners of five of its last six, is ranked fifth in the NE-10 in scoring defense (57.0 ppg) and are the third-best three-point shooting team in the Conference (.326). Katie Dunn led the Dolphins past Southern New Hampshire on Sunday with 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench as she hit all four shots from the field, including three three-pointers, and converted 5-of-6 free-throws attempts.

Sophomore Courtney Coryea (Mooers Forks, N.Y./Northeast Clinton) is averaging a team-best 11.9 points (13^th NE-10) and 8.0 rebounds (7^th) per game for Le Moyne this season, to go with 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocked shots (2^nd). She is shooting a team-best 46-percent from the field and converting 73.3% of her free-throw attempts. Junior Kathleen Gladstone (Cleveland, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) adds 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while classmate Vanessa Holden (Suffern, N.Y./Immaculate Heart (N.J.)) chips in 7.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.                 

 

2008 Northeast-10 Conference
Women’s Basketball Championships
presented by Spaulding

First Round
Sunday, March 2
#9 Southern Connecticut State 64, #8 Pace 46

#7 Le Moyne 53, #10 Southern New Hampshire 39

#6 Bryant 73, #11 Saint Michael’s 60

#5 American International 62, #4 Saint Rose 52

 

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 4, 7 p.m.

#9 Southern Connecticut State (15-13, 10-12 NE-10) at #1 Stonehill (23-4, 19-3 NE-10)

#7 Le Moyne (15-12, 11-11 NE-10) at #2 Franklin Pierce (23-4, 18-4 NE-10)

#6 Bryant (18-10, 12-10 NE-10) at #3 Assumption (21-8, 15-7 NE-10)

#5 American International (17-11, 12-10 NE-10) at #4 Bentley (18-9, 15-7 NE-10)

 

Semifinals

Friday, March 7, 7 p.m. (at higher seeds)

Le Moyne/Franklin Pierce winner vs. Bryant/Assumption winner

American Int’l/Bentley winner vs. Southern Connecticut/Stonehill winner

 

Championship
Sunday, March 9, 1 p.m.
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed