Ravens keep home court hopes alive, Stelmack and Jacobs pace offense

RINDGE, N.H. (February 19, 2005) - Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead and rode it the rest of the way in collecting a 66-51 victory over Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (13-12, 10-11 NE-10) moves into a three-way tie for eighth place in the NE-10 with the win. Saint Rose (13-12, 10-11 NE-10) defeated Saint Anselm to keep pace and Stonehill (14-12, 10-11 NE-10) fell to American International to drop into the tie. All three are just a game behind idle UMass Lowell (14-12, 11-10 NE-10). Franklin Pierce and UMass Lowell round out their Conference schedules with a head-to-head battle on Monday in Lowell, Mass., at 5:30 p.m.

Sophomore Mollie Stelmack (New Westminster, British Columbia/New Westminster) and junior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) paced Franklin Pierce, each starring in opposite halves. Stelmack scored all of her game-high 18 points in the opening 20 minutes as she hit six-of-ten shots from the field, including 3-5 from three-point range, in the stanza. She also totaled three rebounds and two assists. Jacobs netted all of her 14 points in the second half, hitting 5-of-8 from the field in the frame, including 3-4 from long-distance, to go with eight rebounds (three offensive).      

Junior Maria Clifton (New York, N.Y./St. Michael's Academy) registered eight points and matched her career-high with ten rebounds (seven offensive) for the Ravens, while freshman Stephanie Bergeron (Pointe Claire, Quebec/Dawson College) added nine points, connecting on 3-6 three's, and four assists. Senior CiCi Williams (Boston, Mass./East Boston) chipped in six points and a career-best eight rebounds.

Junior Glhansy Bonhomme (Laval, Quebec/Montmorency) led Southern New Hampshire with nine points. Freshman Danielle Graunke (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) registered eight points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, while senior Jenn Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua) posted eight points, three boards and three steals. Senior Andrea Dixon (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) also chipped in eight points.

With the game tied at 6-6 six minutes into the contest, Franklin Pierce scored nine-straight points with Stelmack and freshman Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) each netting three-pointers during the run.

Senior Vanessa Cedrone (Newton, Mass./Newton North) buried a three-pointer for Southern New Hampshire, but the Ravens then posted a 14-4 run to break open a 16-point advantage (29-13) with 1:41 left in the opening half. Stelmack and Bergeron sparked the stretch with shots from beyond the arc.

Stelmack closed out the half with a three for a 19-point (34-15) cushion and Jacobs canned a three 1:13 into the second to give the Ravens a 22-point lead (37-15). The Penmen closed to within 16 (41-25) after a Sara Tucker (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook Central) jumper with 14:15 to play, but the Ravens answered with a 15-4 run to break the game open with a 27-point lead (56-29) midway through the frame. Bergeron and Clifton sparked the run with a pair of three-pointers each and the closest the Penmen got the rest of the way was their final 15-point deficit.

Southern New Hampshire (4-22, 1-21 NE-10) closes out its season with a non-conference game with Post University on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE