Coderre pumps in team-high 14 points; Grant comes off bench to stroke three triples

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (November 23, 2010) -- The 10th-ranked Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team overcame a sluggish start with impressive play in the second half to pick up a 73-51 win over Saint Michael's on Tuesday night at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens, who were playing their 2010-11 home opener, improved to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Northeast-10. St. Mike's dipped to 1-1 overall and in league play.

Freshman guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) led all Franklin Pierce scorers with 14 points, which marked a new career-high for her. She was 6-of-8 from the floor, including going 2-for-4 from behind the three-point stripe. She also handed out four assists during the game.

Junior forwards Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) and Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) were the other two Ravens to score in double-figures as they chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively. White just missed tallying her fifth-consecutive double-double to open the season as she pulled down eight rebounds. Giroud added six boards as the Ravens owned a 34-32 advantage on the glass.

Sophomore guard Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) came off the bench to pump in three three-pointers for nine points, while sophomore guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.), freshman center Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) and freshman guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) each added six points apiece.

Coreen Hennessy and Logan Pintka were the two Purple Knights to score in double-figures at 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Franklin Pierce shot a strong 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field, while limiting St. Mike's to just 30.5 percent shooting (18-of-59).

The Ravens and Purple Knights struggled throughout most of the first half as Franklin Pierce took a slim 25-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

However, the Ravens came out firing in the second half and quickly built a 35-25 lead a little more than two minutes into the stanza. Johnson had four points during the early surge, while Giroud capped it with a jumper from the left wing.

That early run would end up being the turning point of the game as Saint Michael's was only able to get back within single digits one more time the rest of the way.

Franklin Pierce pushed its lead out to 22 at 52-30 with 9:47 remaining following a triple from Grant. The Ravens led by as many as 24 on two separate occasions in the second half as they cruised in for the victory.

The Ravens shot 56 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the second 20 minutes while committing just six turnovers and forcing the Purple Knights into 12. Franklin Pierce also fed several nice passes in the half as the Ravens logged an assist on all 15 shots made.

Also of note from the game was the return of senior center Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I.), who missed most of last year's post-season run that included an NE-10 championship, NCAA East Regional championship and a trip to the Final Four. Ahrens suffered a knee injury in the NE-10 quarterfinals versus New Haven and tried to return for the Regional, but played sparingly. She had not played in a game this season prior to Tuesday, but against St. Mike's, she logged 11 minutes and had three rebounds, one assist and a steal.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Sunday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to face Saint Anselm at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).