Women's Basketball Lets Second Half Lead Slip Away in 68-59 Loss to Saint Rose

Amanda Saab adds in eight points

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 2, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team couldn't hold onto a second-half lead as Saint Rose rallied for a 68-59 win on Saturday at Nolan Gymnasium in Albany, N.Y. The Ravens dipped to 13-6 overall and 10-5 in the Northeast-10, while the Golden Knights improved to 7-12 and 4-11 in league play.

Junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench to pump in a team-high 20 points for Franklin Pierce, while senior backcourt-mate Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) chipped in with 17. 

Mariah Lesure paced four Golden Knight double-figure scorers as she came off the bench to net 23 points (9-of-11 shooting) and pulled down 11 rebounds to log a double-double. Desiree Simmons also came off the pine and logged 11 points, while Gabie Polce and Jessica Walton added 10 points apiece.

It marked the third-straight game Franklin Pierce played in which a team rallied from a second-half deficit to pull off the win. Unlike the previous two games which saw the Ravens rally from double-digit deficits, this time Franklin Pierce could not hold onto the lead as it held an eight-point margin on four separate occasions, including at 51-43 with 10:12 remaining following a pair of Martelle free throws.

The Ravens, though, went cold offensively and did not score over the next three-and-a-half minutes. Saint Rose, on the other hand, reeled off seven-straight points to pull within one before Johnson finally stemmed the tide with a jumper at the 6:48 mark to make it 53-50.

The Golden Knights didn't back down and scored the ensuing six points, including four-consecutive free throws from Walton and a layup from Simmons, to go up 56-53 with 4:37 remaining.

Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) and Martelle each converted a pair of free throws to keep the Ravens within a point over the next couple of possessions, but those foul shots couldn't offset an ensuing 8-0 run by Saint Rose which staked it to a 66-57 lead and ultimately the win. Lesure's layup sparked the closing surge and Walton aided it with three points.

Saint Rose scored 25 of the game's final 33 points to earn the win and shot 42 percent (20-of-48) from the field. The Golden Knights were also able to make their final run thanks in large part to their defensive play, which limited the Ravens to just a 36 percent shooting clip (20-of-56) from the field. Franklin Pierce also struggled shooting from three-point range as it knocked down just 23 percent (4-of-17) of its attempts. The Ravens had come into the game leading the NE-10 in three-point shooting.

The Golden Knights also helped their cause by owning a commanding 43-23 advantage on the boards, including ripping down 16 offensive rebounds. Walton collected eight rebounds, while Maria Sanchez pulled down seven of her own.

The one area where Saint Rose struggled was taking care of the basketball as it turned it over 23 times. Eleven (11) of those miscues came in the first half which allowed Franklin Pierce to race out to a 38-32 lead at halftime. Martelle scored 12 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Johnson tossed in 11.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens play host to Stonehill at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)