Jo. Leedham nearly nabs first career triple-double in Ravens home opening win

RINDGE, N.H. (November 20, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team picked up a 64-46 victory over Assumption College in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both at the Fieldhouse tonight.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) again nearly snagged her first career triple-double, this time falling just a steal short, as she led Franklin Pierce with 26 points, 11 rebounds, nine steals and five assists in the victory. She hit 11-of-21 shots from the field and converted 6-8 free-throw attempts in the win, collecting her second-straight double-double (12th career).

Sophomore Jess McPherson (Croydon, Australia) added a career-high 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor, while converting 6-8 free-throws, to go with six rebounds and three assists. Junior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) chipped in eight points, while freshman Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) added six rebounds off the bench.

Juniors Beth Plasski (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) and Trish Gardner (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) each netted 11 points for Assumption. Plasski hit 3-of-5 three-pointers, while Gardner added four rebounds and three assists. Senior Charde Floyd (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Franklin Pierce held Assumption to 32.6-percent (15-of-46) shooting on the night, including 29.2% (7-24) in the first half, and forced 32 Greyhound turnovers, which resulted in a 29-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The Ravens shot 41.4% (24-58) from the field, overcoming a 3-for-24 (12.5%) effort from three-point range.

Franklin Pierce led by as much as 18 in the first half, but Assumption trimmed it to 12 points (31-19) at the break and pulled within five (31-26) with the first seven points of the second half. The Ravens answered with a 17-2 run to regain a 20-point edge (48-28) with 11:50 left to play. Three-pointers from junior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) and Leedham, as well as conventional three-point plays from Leedham (twice) and junior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) spurred the deciding run.

Assumption never got within 16 points the rest of the way and Franklin Pierce led by as much as 24 after a jumper from freshman Ashley Robinson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Nova) with 2:25 to go, before settling for the 18-point margin.

Franklin Pierce (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) will enjoy a short holiday break before returning to action on Sunday at Bryant University at 1:30 p.m. The Ravens are back home next Wednesday to host Pace University at 5:30 p.m. Assumption (4-2, 0-1 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.