Jo. Leedham leads Ravens to key NE-10 win with game-high 28 points

RINDGE, N.H. (January 19, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked 15th in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, collected a key 77-64 victory over 12th-ranked Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference women’s basketball action at the Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) led four Franklin Pierce players in double-figures with 28 points, shooting 11-for-24 from the field, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, and converting 4-of-6 free-throws. She also added six rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Leedham, now 30 points shy of eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau, is within seven points of cracking the program’s career scoring top 20 with 970 points in just 42 career games.

Junior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) added 14 points, connecting on 4-of-9 three-pointers, four rebounds and three steals, while classmate Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) posted 15 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Senior Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Franklin Pierce with ten points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals, while freshman Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) chipped in seven points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench.

Sophomore Megan Methven (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post East) led Stonehill with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, including 7-12 from beyond the arc, to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Methven netted 20 points in the first half alone, connecting on 6-of-9 from three-point range, in the frame.

Junior Kelsey Simonds (Middleboro, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) notched a double-double with 15 points, aided by 7-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Classmate Bethany Tighe (North Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Franklin Pierce led by a point (52-51) with 11:38 to play before Power drained a three-pointer to spark a deciding 16-2 run that put the Ravens up a game-high 15 (68-53) after two Power free-throws with 4:44 on the clock. Jennifer Leedham collected six points during that stretch.

Stonehill crept back within nine (70-61) after a Simonds jumper with 2:12 left, but Franklin Pierce answered with four-straight points to regain a 13-point edge (74-61) after two free-throws from freshman Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) with 49-seconds left to ice the victory.

The first half featured a series of runs that helped each team earn ten-point leads before Franklin Pierce rallied to carry a two-point lead into the intermission (38-36) on a Johannah Leedham three with four-seconds left. A 15-5 Ravens run over a five-minute span early in the first half put the hosts up ten (23-13) after Johannah Leedham converted a conventional three-point play at the 11:25-mark.

Stonehill answered with a 22-2 run over the next six minutes to reverse fortunes (35-25) with 5:01 to play in the frame. Methven drained four-straight three’s and added another jumper for 14 points during that stretch. Franklin Pierce collected itself and closed the half with a 13-1 run to take the halftime lead. Johannah Leedham collected seven points during that stretch.

Franklin Pierce (14-3, 9-3 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday for another key NE-10 match up at first place Assumption College (15-3, 10-2 NE-10), among teams receiving votes nationally, at 5:30 p.m. The Ravens return home on Saturday, February 2, to host UMass Lowell at 1:30 p.m. Stonehill (13-4, 9-3 NE-10) hosts 17th-ranked Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.