2005 NORTHEAST-10 #7 Bryant Nips #10 Franklin Pierce, 47-43
Poor shooting keeps Ravens from posting upset; Fournier nets 19 for Bulldogs
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (February 27, 2005) - Seventh-seeded Bryant University held off a late rally from tenth-seeded Franklin Pierce to collect a 47-43 victory in first round action of the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball tournament at the Chace Athletic Center this afternoon.
Bryant (18-10, 12-10 NE-10) advances to Tuesday's quarterfinal round where it will travel to second-seeded and No. 16-ranked Southern Connecticut State University (23-4, 18-4 NE-10) with tip-off at 7 p.m. Franklin Pierce (14-14, 10-12 NE-10) completes its first .500 season since 1998-99 when the Ravens posted a 22-7 mark en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Bulldogs 47 points are their fewest in a winning effort since a 47-44 victory over Saint Anselm College during the 1982-83 campaign. However, the Ravens shot just 27.1-percent (13-48) from the field, including six-of-25 (24%) from three-point range, and were out-rebounded by a 38-32 margin.
Senior Kellie Fournier (Westport, Mass./Westport) led Bryant with 19 points, as she hit seven-of-14 from the field and converted 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, to go with seven rebounds. Senior Lindsay Hermann (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central) added ten points, three boards and two blocks, while sophomore Joanna Skiba (Providence, R.I./Classical) chipped in eight points, four boards and six assists. Sophomore Erin Murphy (Albany, N.Y./Colonie) also snared seven boards.
Sophomore Mollie Stelmack (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) led Franklin Pierce with 15 points and three rebounds. Classmate Danielle D'Ettorre (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/St. Mary's) added nine points, four rebounds and two steals, while junior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) finished with six points, four boards, a career-best seven assists and two steals. Junior Maria Clifton (New York, N.Y./St. Michael's Academy) grabbed a team-best six boards.
Franklin Pierce trailed by two at the break (22-20) after a Stelmack three-pointer with seven seconds left. However, a D'Ettorre three-pointer was the Ravens lone field goal over the first 11:27 of the second half, which allowed Bryant to open a 12-point lead (38-26) after a Dede Fogarty (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) three with 12:03 to play.
Franklin Pierce refused to quit and held the Bulldogs to just two free throws over a seven-minute span to cut the lead to four (42-38) after Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) free throw with 2:01 left. Hermann scored a lay-up with 1:33 left to put Bryant back up six (44-38), but Stelmack answered with a three to make it a one-possession game (44-41) with 1:18 to play.
Two Bryant turnovers gave the Ravens a chance to knot the score, but Lidke had a three-pointer blocked and a second was just off the mark with 19-seconds to go. Fournier hit one-of-two at the line with 16-seconds left, then Stelmack was fouled going to the hoop and nailed both attempts to trim the lead to two (45-43) with 11-seconds left. However, Fournier iced the win with a pair of free throws with ten seconds left.