Dyamond Gardner throws in 14 points to aid in the win

RINDGE, N.H. (February 11, 2014) – Four Ravens scored in double-figures led by sophomore forward Kara Charette's (Fairhaven, Mass.) 18 points, as the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team strung together an important 64-60 win over Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday night in Rindge.

The Ravens won their third straight and 10^th in the last 12 to improve to 14-8 overall and 11-6 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen dipped to 7-15 and 5-12 in league play.

Joining Charette in double-figures was Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) with 14 points, Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) with 12, and Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) with 10.

The Ravens held a 10-point lead early in the second half, but watched as SNHU mounted a 21-8 run to take a 49-46 lead with 10:59 remaining. Six different Penmen scored during the surge.

Loretta Rocha, who poured in a team-best 17 points for Southern New Hampshire, had seven of those during the run. Kaylea Griffin's layup with 11:49 remaining finally gave SNHU a 47-46 lead, and Sara Ryan's basket a minute later capped the furious comeback.

Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) and Martelle answered for the Ravens with baskets on back-to-back possessions to put Franklin Pierce back up by one with 10:12 to go.

From that moment on both teams traded buckets down the stretch, as neither side could pull away.

Hurd scored a pair of baskets and Charette converted a free throw minutes later to make it a two possession game at 55-51, but Erin Doherty bombed in a three at the other end for SNHU to pull it back within one.

Brooke Springfield drained a pair of foul shots with 3:24 remaining to pull the Penmen to within 59-58, but both sides went scoreless until there were :45 left as Hurd rained in a jumper.

Springfield had a chance at a tying layup in the waning seconds, but the shot rolled off the back iron, and Charette hit two free throws with a tick left on the clock to seal the win for Franklin Pierce.

The Ravens shot 48 percent from the floor, compared to 43 percent shooting for Southern New Hampshire. Charette also had eight rebounds and seven assists to go along with her game-high point total. Springfield was SNHU's other double-digit scorer with 12 points.

Franklin Pierce led as many as 13 points in the first half, including at 25-12 when Gardner bombed in a deep three with 9:49 left until halftime.

Southern New Hampshire tried to claw back and cut the deficit to five inside the final minute of the stanza, but Martelle netted a triple, and Palma hit a layup near the buzzer to give Franklin Pierce a 36-26 lead at the intermission.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to take on Saint Anselm at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at http://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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)