UMass Lowell Edges 
Franklin Pierce, 67-62
River Hawks out-rebound Ravens 41-23,
out-score visitors 11-3 on second-chance points

LOWELL, Mass. (November 25, 2003) – University of Massachusetts Lowell won the battle of the boards and turned it into a 67-62 victory over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at Costello Gymnasium tonight.

UMass Lowell nearly doubled Franklin Pierce on the glass, out-rebounding the Ravens by a 41-23 margin, including 19-16 on the Ravens defensive end of the court and thus out-scored Franklin Pierce 11-3 on second-chance points.

Franklin Pierce shot 45.8-percent (22-48) from the field for the contest, including 50% (11-22) in the opening half, while UMass Lowell finished shooting 41.4% (24-58) from the field.

Senior Dragana Rabota (Zrenjanin, Serbia) netted a game-high 24 points, shooting 9-14 from the field while canning 5-5 from the line, grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists. Sophomore Mariette Guillaume (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) added 13 points, a game-high nine rebounds and three steals, while junior Enjoli Edwards (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds (four offensive), three assists and four steals.

Freshman forward Danielle D’Ettorre (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/St. Mary’s) led Franklin Pierce with a season-high 19 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor, five rebounds and three steals. Junior Patricia Lang (Monroe, N.H./Saint Johnsbury Academy) added a season-high 11 points and three steals.

Senior forward Susan Ocitti (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge R&L) chipped in nine points, a team-best seven rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes before fouling out with 7:59 to play, while freshman Mollie Stelmack (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) contributed nine points, five assists and two steals.

Franklin Pierce held a seven point lead (38-31) 2:38 into the second half after a jumper from D’Ettorre, but UMass Lowell reeled off a 7-0 run, led by four points from sophomore Emily Kordas (Hillsboro, N.H./Hillsboro-Deering), to knot the game at 38 with 15:32 to play.

The River Hawks out-scored the Ravens 22-12 over the next ten minutes to jump out to a ten-point lead (60-50) with 5:47 to play. Trailing 62-52 with 3:56 on the clock, Franklin Pierce was able to trim its deficit to two points (64-62) with 35-seconds left after a Stelmack three-pointer and a free throw from D’Ettorre. However, D’Ettorre missed the back end of her two shots with a chance to cut the lead to a single point.

Edwards missed a chance to ice the win when she missed the back end of a two-shot trip to the line, but senior Sarah Udvardi (Budapest, Hungary) pulled down the offensive rebound and Rabota made two free throws with nine-seconds left to seal it.

Franklin Pierce (3-1, 1-1 NE-10) returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Stonehill College at 1:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (4-0, 1-0 NE-10) visits Merrimack College on Sunday at 1 p.m.

BOX SCORE