Ravens Rally Late, Fall to Yellow Jackets

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 27, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University women's basketball freshman guard Demi Akins (Cambridge, Mass.) scored a career-high 16 points in a 65-49 setback to Northeast-10 Conference opponent American International College Saturday afternoon at the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 9-13 overall and 3-11 NE10 while the Ravens dropped their 13th conference duel of the campaign.

Akins had her long-range stroke working all afternoon as she was 4-of-6 (66.7%) from deep. She also grabbed two boards, handed out one assist and came up with a theft. Sophomore team captain Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) dropped 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-best four helpers. Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) was two points shy of a double-double with eight points and a game-best 13 caroms.

Three players for AIC tallied double-digit points including a double-double effort of 18 markers and 11 boards from junior forward Dana Watts. Sophomore guard Rashana Siders matched Akins with a 4-of-6 performance from deep.

AIC began the game with a second chance lay-in by Alyssa Guyon after a missed floater. They immediately increased their lead to 4-0 following a steal from Dominique Boyd at mid-court and another second chance bucket this time by Watts. The Ravens took an early 30-second timeout and responded with superior perimeter ball movement, which led to a wide-open Akins three-pointer from the right corner. AIC answered with a three-ball, then on the next trip down the court, Akins poured in another long-range connection to cut the early deficit to 7-6.

Four straight markers by the hosts upped their edge to 11-6 until Thacker reversed home a second chance layup to make the score 11-8. The 8-2 Yellow Jacket spurt continued as they led 15-8, but Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) drained a baseline jumper to cut into the lead at 15-10. AIC kept tacking on points to their edge via a Jayda Gimore jumper, a Watts layup and one freebie apiece from the duo to push the advantage to 21-10. Akins connected on her third three-ball of the quarter as the Ravens trailed 21-13. Siders and Nadia Wooten concluded the first stanza with consecutive long-range connections as the hosts led 27-13 after the first period.

The hosts kept on adding on markers to their lead as Siders hit another three-ball to move the score to 32-13. Thacker immediately earned those three points back with a beyond the arc conversion of her own with 8:49 left before the break. Thacker's trey began a 7-1 Raven binge which was capped off by a Diondra Woumn (Lynn, Mass.) offensive board and layup which turned a 19 point deficit to only 13 at 33-20. AIC increased the advantage to 37-20 after two Watts free throws, but the Ravens ended the half by outscoring the Yellow Jackets 6-2 to trail 39-26 at halftime.

The scoring in the second half opened when Watts dumped in a layup on the low block. Her lay-in was the start of a 10-0 run which included back-to-back three-pointers from Siders, Guyon and capped off by another Watts second chance conversion to give the Yellow Jackets a 23 point, 49-26 lead. Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) finally gave the Birds their first points of the quarter when she split free throws at the charity stripe. A Mosley catch and shoot three-pointer on the right wing made it a 19 point game at 53-32. AIC eventually outscored the Ravens 16-6 in the third to lead 55-32 following three quarters.

Pierce notched 13 straight points in the fourth off a Thacker three-ball, a Mayo layup, an Akins jumper and another Mosley three-ball to cut the deficit to 13, 55-42 with 6:54 left to play. An Akins three-pointer and layup brought the deficit to 11, 58-47. Siders iced the game by burying a long-range shot with 3:44 to go.

The Ravens head back to Rindge this coming Wednesday, January 31st for a NE10 showdown with Saint Anselm College with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens ), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).