FP
Scores Key Win at Merrimack, 70-66
Robinson and Lang lead Ravens to first NE-10 Tourney berth

Lang netted a season-high 21 points and tallied eight rebounds and three steals

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (February 12, 2002) - Franklin Pierce University
shrugged off a slow start to post a key 70-66 victory at Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at the Volpe Athletic Complex tonight.

The win clinches FPC's first NE-10 Tournament berth and gives it a chance to finish ahead of Merrimack for the 11th seed. The Warriors do lead the Ravens by a half game after the loss, but rounds out its schedule with road games at Bryant College and Assumption College and a home date with first-place American International College. Should Merrimack lose all three, FP
would be the 11th seed regardless of its final two games, taking the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Senior forward Amina Robinson (Hyde Park, Mass./Jeremiah Burke) notched her Conference-best 15th double-double of the season as she finished with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. She finished the night with a ten-of-18 shooting effort from the field (including one three-pointer).

Freshman Patricia Lang (Monroe, N.H./Saint Johnsbury Academy) also had a strong game as she netted a season-high 21 points, aided by a 2-2 effort from three-point range, eight rebounds and three steals. Junior Jennifer Webster (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) rounded out the Ravens double-figure scorers with 13 points, hitting 3-5 from long-distance, four steals and two blocks.

Senior Stacy Knapp had a tremendous game to lead Merrimack, totaling 20 points, on 7-12 shooting from the field and a 6-7 effort at the line, to go along with a game-high 19 rebounds (eight offensive) and four blocks.

Sophomore Christina Siragusa added 11 points, five boards, three assists and two steals, while classmate Meghan Leary chipped in ten points, four rebounds (three offensive) and three assists.

Merrimack staked out a 9-0 lead, holding FP
off the scoreboard until the 14:28 mark of the opening half, but the Ravens roared back with a 14-6 run over the next seven minutes to cut the lead to one (15-14) and took their first lead of the game (20-19) with a Lang jumper with 5:38 to play in the half.

With the score knotted at 27-27 at the intermission, took charge again to start the second half and built a seven-point lead (43-36) at the 13:25 mark.

Trailing 47-40 with 11:40 to play, FP
reeled off an 8-2 run, sparked by six points by Lang to cut the lead to one (49-48) with 9:17 to go.

FP
was unable to forge a lead until the 5:32 mark when a pair of Emily Liskow (Strafford, N.H./Coe-Brown) free throws gave the Ravens a 55-54 advantage.

The game see-sawed back and forth until a Lang three-pointer with 39-seconds to play gave the Ravens the lead for good (66-64), the she and classmate Allison Flynn (Salem, Mass./Salem) each made a pair of free throws to seal the win.

FP
(12-15, 8-12 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Manchester, N.H., to face Granite State Challenge rival Southern New Hampshire University at 1:30 p.m. Merrimack (10-13, 8-11 NE-10) travels to Assumption on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.