#17 Franklin Pierce Hosts Bryant in NE-10 Semifinal Friday
Second-seeded Ravens seek first Conference finals berth since 1999

RINDGE, N.H. (March 6, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team, ranked 17^th in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll and third in the NCAA II Northeast Regional rankings, hosts sixth-seeded Bryant University, among team receiving votes nationally and ranked eighth in the region, in semifinal round action of the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference Championships, presented by Spaulding, at the Fieldhouse on Friday at 7 p.m.

           Franklin Pierce (24-4, 18-4 NE-10) is seeded second in the 12-team championship and reached the semifinals by surviving a serious scare from seventh-seeded Le Moyne College, with a 54-53 victory in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round. The Ravens will host sixth-seeded Bryant (19-10, 12-10 NE-10), who upset third-seeded Assumption College on Tuesday after posting a 73-60 win over 11^th-seeded Saint Michael’s in Sunday’s first round.

           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 semifinal will earn the right to play for the Northeast-10 Tournament championship, and the Conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament, on Sunday, March 9, at 1 p.m. They will play the winner of Friday’s other semifinal between fourth-seeded Bentley College (19-9, 15-7 NE-10) and top-seeded Stonehill College (24-4, 19-3 NE-10) at the home of the highest remaining seed.          

Franklin Pierce, which snapped a six-game drought in Conference tournament games, including an 0-for-5 run in the NE-10 since joining the Conference in 2000, with Tuesday’s win over Le Moyne, is seeking its first Conference championship game appearance since 1999. That year, the Ravens fell to Binghamton University (80-68) in the New England Collegiate Conference final.

           Franklin Pierce, looking to break 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 (+14.4), field goal percentage (.453), three-point field goal percentage (.382), assists (16.89/game), steals (12.21/gm) and forced turnovers (23.2/gm). They are also second in the NE-10 in scoring (71.3 ppg), turnover margin (+3.04) and fourth in scoring defense (56.9 ppg), three-point field goal percentage defense (.287) and field goal percentage defense (.365). Franklin Pierce has won nine-straight games for the first time since a 15-game upswing in 1997-98.

           Franklin Pierce is led by the sister combination of junior co-captain Jennifer and sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) who have accounted for 45.6-percent of the Ravens scoring this season after combining for 34 of their team’s 54 points in Tuesday’s win over Le Moyne as each netted 17 points. One or the other sister has led Franklin Pierce in scoring in all but two games over the last two seasons and 27-of-28 games so far this year.          

Johannah Leedham, an NE-10 Player of the Year candidate, leads the Conference in scoring (22.0 ppg) and steals (3.4/gm), to go with team-high averages of 6.6 rebounds (12^th NE-10) and 4.0 assists (5^th). She is shooting 47.9-percent from the field (9^th), including 37.3% from three-point range (6^th), and has converted 82.6% of her free-throw attempts (6^th). She became just the second player in program history to score 600 points in a season, eclipsing the plateau on Tuesday, entering tomorrow’s game with 615 points – the fourth-highest single-season total in program history.

           Jennifer adds 10.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists (4^th NE-10) and 2.0 steals (8^th) per game for the Ravens. Junior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) contributes 7.6 points off the bench and ranks third in the NE-10 with a .402 three-point shooting percentage. Senior co-captain Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) is second in the NE-10 in three-point shooting at 45.5% and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. 

           Tomorrow marks the 23^rd meeting all-time between these two programs, the second in the NE-10 Tournament. The series is tied at 11-11 after Franklin Pierce swept the regular season series between the two teams, posting a 65-54 victory at Bryant on November 25 before notching a 65-56 triumph at the Fieldhouse in Rindge on February 5. Johannah Leedham averaged 29 points, 5.5 rebounds, four assists and two steals in the two wins for the Ravens, shooting 55.9-percent (19-34) from the field and converting 19-of-22 (86.4%) free-throw attempts. Junior Cara Johnson (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) averaged 11 points and 1.5 steals over the two games for the Bulldogs.          

Bryant won the lone postseason encounter all-time between the two programs, with a 47-43 decision in the first round of the 2005 NE-10 Tournament. Lidke was the lone player from either of this year's teams to play in that game. She started for the Ravens and posted six points, four rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes.

           Bryant, winners of three-straight and five of six, leads the Northeast-10 in rebounding, grabbing 43-per game as a team and is third in the Conference with a +5.1 per game rebound margin. The Bulldogs rank fifth in the NE-10 in scoring (66.0 ppg) and seventh in scoring defense (60.3 ppg). Bryant is seeking an NE-10 championship in its final season in the Conference as the Bulldogs will begin their transition to NCAA Division I status at the close of this academic year.

           Sophomore Kelsey O’Keefe (Warren, Mass./Quaboag) leads Bryant with 15.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game to go with 26 blocked shots. Johnson contributes 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest, while senior Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass./Smith Academy) adds 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals.

           O’Keefe and Johnson have stood out for Bryant in its first two postseason games. O’Keefe, named the NE-10 Player of the Week on Monday, is averaging 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a steal per game in the postseason. Johnson is averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and two assists over the last two games. 

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
#1 Stonehill 65, #9 Southern Connecticut State 60 (OT)
#2 Franklin Pierce 54, #7 Le Moyne 53
#6 Bryant 64, #3 Assumption 58
#4 Bentley 61, #5 American International 38

Semifinals
Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
#6 Bryant (19-10, 12-10 NE-10) at #2 Franklin Pierce (24-4, 18-4 NE-10)
#4 Bentley (19-9, 15-7 NE-10) at #1 Stonehill (24-4, 19-3 NE-10)

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