Johannah Leedham notches third-straight double-double as Ravens conclude the regular season with a 25-1 record

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (February 24, 2010) – The No. 2-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team capped an impressive 2009-10 regular season on Wednesday night with a convincing 91-38 win over UMass-Lowell in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 25-1 overall and 21-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Lowell fell to 16-10 and 12-10 in league play.

Franklin Pierce won the league’s regular season title last week and with that the opportunity to have home court advantage throughout the NE-10 Tournament, which will be held Feb. 28 through March 7. The Ravens earned a first-round bye this weekend and will begin tournament play on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The opponent is still to be determined.

Senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) concluded the regular season with her third-consecutive double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds. She already had the double-double by halftime as she logged 17 points and 10 boards. Leedham added six steals and five assists during the game.

The 24 points moved Leedham into second place in NCAA Division II women’s basketball history for career scoring with 2,828 points. She stands just 58 points shy from becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division II history.

Two other Ravens scored in double-figures, including senior guard Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass.) and junior backcourt-mate Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) with 14 points apiece.

Sophomore center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) and freshman forward Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) came off the bench to drop in eight and seven points, respectively. It was all part of a 45-point effort from the reserves during the evening.

The night began with the four-player senior class of Leedham, Doldoorian, Rachel Kimball (Rotterdam, N.Y.) and Alexis Auffray (Cornwall, N.Y.) being honored prior to the game for their years of service to the program.

Following the touching ceremony, the Ravens went right to work and quickly put the game out of reach.

The Ravens opened the game on a 27-2 run a little more than 12 minutes in. Leedham had 11 points during the run, while White added six points. Doldoorian sparked the early surge with a deep three-pointer.

Franklin Pierce’s defense, which forced UMass-Lowell into 27 turnovers throughout the game, held the Riverhawks to single-digits in scoring through the first 19 minutes of the contest. The Ravens limited Lowell to 19 percent shooting (4-of-21) from the field in the first 20 minutes and built a 41-12 lead at halftime.

The start of the second half mirrored the start of the game as Franklin Pierce scored 16 of the first 18 points. Gaudet was the catalyst of this surge as she dropped in seven points.

The Ravens led by as many as 57 points in the second half as they cruised the rest of the way to the win. The victory gave the Ravens the two-game regular season series sweep over the Riverhawks. Franklin Pierce pulled out a 67-62 win in Lowell back on Dec. 8, as the Riverhawks jumped out to an early 20-9 lead before the Ravens came storming back to earn the come-from-behind win.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)