White scores career-high 34 points; Giroud collects 500th career rebound

BOXSCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (December 17, 2010) -- Junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) had a double-double, including a career-high 34 points and 15 rebounds, to lead the No. 13-nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to an 85-64 win over Nova Southeastern on Friday in the Cruzin Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Ravens improved to 9-2, while the Sharks fell to 6-3.

It marked the second time this season White logged a career-high in points as she tossed in a then career-best 27 points in an 89-82 win at Stonehill back on Nov. 17. She also had a double-double in that game as she ripped down 17 rebounds.

Junior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) also had a milestone evening as she had 15 points and nine rebounds to go over the 500-rebound mark for her career.

All 10 Ravens played in the game and each registered in the scoring column, including eight points from freshman guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) and seven points apiece from sophomore Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) and freshman Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.).

Stephanie Sarosi and Jasmine Wilkins were the two double-figure scorers for Nova Southeastern, as they dropped in 20 and 14 points, respectively.

Franklin Pierce shot an impressive 54 percent (32-of-59) from the field, while holding the Sharks to just 37 percent shooting (24-of-64). The Ravens also held a commanding advantage on the glass, out-rebounding Nova Southeastern by a 43-31 margin. Giroud had four assists and two steals to go along with her near double-double, while Johnson collected four assists, five steals and five rebounds to round out her solid all-around game. White's 34 points came on 13-of-18 shooting from the field.

Nova Southeastern, though, dominated the opening 12 minutes of the game and held a 20-13 lead before Franklin Pierce shook off the slow start to begin its rally. The Ravens responded by going on a 14-2 run over a four-minute span to take a 27-22 advantage. Martelle kick-started the rally with a jumper and capped it with a triple, while White chipped in with four points to aid the run. Franklin Pierce from there would build a 41-30 lead at halftime.

The Ravens continued their strong offensive play in the second 20 minutes and led by double-digits for a majority of the stanza in pulling away for the victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday evening when it closes out competition in the Cruzin Classic by taking on Barry at 7 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).