Kara Charette named to NE-10 All-Rookie Team

RINDGE, N.H. (February 28, 2013) – Franklin Pierce University standout Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) on Friday was named the 2013 Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to being named the league’s most outstanding stopper, Johnson also earned a spot on the All-NE-10 Second-Team. It marks the first time in her career she garnered accolades from the conference.

Johnson was joined by forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) in attaining All-NE-10 honors on Friday, as the freshman was named to the NE-10 All-Rookie Team.

Johnson has had an outstanding senior season in Rindge. She ranks among the top-16 in the three major defensive categories, including steals (2^nd, 79), blocks (13^th, 24) and defensive rebounds (16^th, 128). She is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, which is the 27^th highest average in the league, while her 3.0 steals per game is the third highest clip.

Johnson has collected seven-or-more rebounds in 11 games, while swiping multiple steals in 21 games, including five times with at least five thefts. She has also blocked multiple shots in six games, including a pair of contests with four swats.

Johnson has also gotten it done on the offensive end this year as she has averaged a career-high 12.3 points on a 43 percent shooting clip. She ranks 17^th in the league in scoring (17 double-figure scoring games), while also knocking down 135 field goals which is the eighth highest total in the NE-10.

Johnson logged one double-double this season as she went for 15 points and 11 boards in a 57-41 win over Dillard in the Big Easy Challenge back on Dec. 30 in New Orleans.

She had three terrific all-around games this season that displayed her incredible versatility and prowess in registering in various statistical columns in a box score. Johnson narrowly missed a double-double against UMass-Lowell on Dec. 8 as she went for nine rebounds, nine assists, five steals and four blocks. In Franklin Pierce’s next game on Dec. 29 versus Young Harris in the Big Easy, she logged nine boards, five helpers, eight thefts and a block. A similar performance followed at Saint Michael’s on Feb. 9 as Johnson went for eight rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals.

Johnson’s defensive award marks the seventh consecutive year a Raven has taken home at least one of the NE-10’s major yearly honors. The previous winners include: 2007 – Johannah Leedham (rookie of the year); 2008 – Johannah Leedham (player of the year); 2009 – Johannah Leedham (player of the year) / Jennifer Leedham (defensive player of the year) / Mark Swasey (coach of the year); 2010 – Johannah Leedham (player of the year) / Steve Hancock (coach of the year); 2011 – Jewel White (player of the year) / Marielle Giroud (defensive player of the year); 2012 – Marielle Giroud (defensive player of the year).

Charette has had an outstanding debut season in Rindge as she leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game, which is also the 10^th highest average in the league. She has appeared in all 26 games  – with 25 starts – and has scored in double-figures all but five times. Charette has topped 20 points four times, leads the league in field goal percentage (53.9%) and ranks second in free throws made (130).

Charette was named the NE-10’s rookie of the week four times this season, which was the second highest total in the league.

Both Johnson and Charette were vital to Franklin Pierce producing a 17-9 record during the regular season. The Ravens were led by first-year head coach Jennifer Leedham, who did an outstanding job guiding the team to an NE-10 tournament bid while dealing with injuries and the loss of two players of the year to graduation following last season. Franklin Pierce earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and are still very much alive for earning the program’s sixth-consecutive bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Ravens will open NE-10 championship play in the quarterfinal round on Sunday when they travel to face fourth-seeded UMass-Lowell at 3 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell.

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(.)