BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (January 2, 2020) – The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team used a 19 point second quarter and a 20 point fourth quarter to open up 2020 with a 72-60 victory against non-conference opponent the University of Bridgeport Thursday afternoon at the Hubbell Gym.

With the win, the third in a row for the Ravens puts them over .500 for the first time since November 2017 at 6-5 while the setback sends the Purple Knights to 4-10. FPU concludes their non-conference schedule with a 6-1 overall mark and they will return to Northeast-10 Conference play Saturday for a matinee tilt with Saint Michael's College at 1:30 p.m.

Three Raven starters tallied double-figure points. Junior guard Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) scored a team-high 18 points on 8-of-14 efficiency with five boards and one steal. Sophomore forward Izzy Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) racked up 14 points off 6-of-8 field goals with seven rebounds and five assists. Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt.) rounded out the double-digit showings with 10 markers of her own to go along with six caroms.

Starting guard Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) was one point and two assists shy of a triple-double. She poured in nine points while snaring a game-best and career-high 10 rebounds and handed out a contest and season-high eight dimes.  

Freshman guard Sammi Gallant (Ipswich, Mass.) came off the pine to score a career-high nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance. As a team, FPU shot above 55% for the third straight contest draining 28-of-50 (56.0%) of their field goal attempts. They outshot Bridgeport (29.6%) by a wide margin, had 16 more rebounds than the Purple Knights and doubled them up on points in the paint (40-to-20). The hosts however scored 23 points off 26 Raven turnovers as they only turned the rock over 11 times. Pierce had assists on 23 of their 28 field-goal conversions.

For Bridgeport, Jaqualah Holliman produced a game-high 21 points with a team-high tying eight rebounds. Janiece Loney tacked on 12 points in 29 minutes off the bench.

Pierce began the game on a 7-2 scoring spurt. Bridgeport took the lead 14-10 at the 2:29 mark off two freebies from Holliman. The Purple Knight edge expanded to six, 18-12 when Holliman knocked home a layup. They then took their biggest lead of the game, 24-15 when Loney banged home a trifecta with six seconds in the period.

In the second quarter, the Ravens exploded for a 15-2 run to lead 30-26 with 4:14 to play before the break. They used five straight points from Lipinski including an and1, a Gallant three-ball to deadlock the game 26-26 and a Gallant driving take to the rack to move in front by two possessions. Their advantage remained at four, 34-30 at halftime.

A Carter jumper midway through the third put Pierce ahead by nine, 42-33. Six consecutive points by Bridgeport moved their squad within one possession 42-39 following a Samirah Henderson jumper. They took a brief three point edge, 47-44 off a Holliman triple. The point trading continued until Holmes drained a three to catapult the crimson and grey up two, 52-50 at the conclusion of three quarters.

FPU went on a 9-2 mini-run to lead 61-52 halfway through the fourth following a Carter lay-in assisted by Lipinski. Henderson converted another long-range connection to cut the margin to three, 63-60 with 3:22 left to play. The Raven defense held Bridgeport scoreless for the final 3:22 as they added on nine points for the 12 point win.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://www.fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the women's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensWBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/franklin_pierce_wbb/).