Dolphins hold Ravens to season-low 33.9-percent shooting

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 16, 2008) – Le Moyne College rallied from a ten-point deficit early in the second half to force overtime and post a 68-64 victory over Franklin Pierce University, ranked 15th in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at Ted Grant Court tonight.

Le Moyne held Franklin Pierce to a season-low 33.9-percent (19-for-56) shooting from the field, including 5-of-17 (29.4%) from three-point range. The Dolphins shot 40.7-percent (22-54), including 41.2% (7-17) from three-point range, and posted a 20-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The Ravens made just 6-of-23 (26.1%) shot from the field in the second half and missed all six three-point attempts over the final 25 minutes of the contest.

Junior Katie Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) led four Le Moyne players in double-figures with 18 points (14 after halftime) on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-6 from three-point range, while converting 7-8 free-throws in 25 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Courtney Coryea (Mooers Forks, N.Y./Northeast Clinton) posted a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds to go with four blocked shots, four steals and three assists. Junior Kathleen Gladstone (Cleveland, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) added 11 points, four rebounds and two steals, while classmate Vanessa Holden (Suffern, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) led Franklin Pierce despite being held to a season-low matching 13 points to go with four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 28 minutes before fouling out with 24-seconds left in regulation. Junior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) was the only other Raven in double figures with 12 points, aided by 7-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, to go with two steals. Freshman Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) chipped in nine points, on 4-of-6 shooting, five rebounds and two steals.

The game featured 13 ties and nine lead changes throughout, with the largest lead coming with a ten-point Franklin Pierce advantage (38-28) after a Leedham lay-up just under five minutes into the second half. The Ravens closed the half with a 9-0 run, sparked by five points from freshman Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy).

Le Moyne slowly chipped into the Franklin Pierce lead over the next seven minutes, drawing within a point (43-42) after two Dunn free-throws with 8:03 to play. A Dunn three put the hosts up for the first time in the second half (49-47) with 5:23 on the clock.

Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) converted a conventional three-point play to put Franklin Pierce back in front (52-51) with 3:44 to go and the lead see-sawed until junior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) hit two free-throws to knot the score for the 11th time in the contest (56-56) with 2:27 to go.

Neither team scored for nearly two minutes before Lidke hit two free-throws to put Franklin Pierce in front (58-56) with 36-seconds left. Coryea converted a three-point play to put Le Moyne back in front (59-58) with 24-seconds to go as Leedham picked up her fifth foul and the lead extended to two (60-58) after freshman Danielle Felice (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) hit one of two at the line with 11-seconds to go.

Ahrens put back a Martin miss as time expired to force overtime, but that was Franklin Pierce’s last point until 29-seconds left in the extra frame as Le Moyne scored the first seven points of the extra period. Coryea scored five points of the Dolphins seven points during that stretch.

Franklin Pierce (13-3, 8-3 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it hosts 12th-ranked Stonehill College at the Fieldhouse at 1:30 p.m. Stonehill (13-3, 9-2 NE-10) is one of just three teams to defeat the Ravens this season and currently sits in a tie for first place in the NE-10 a game ahead of Franklin Pierce. Le Moyne (8-8, 5-7 NE-10) hosts Bryant University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.