Eighth-seeded Ravens and ninth-seeded Greyhounds to battle in NE-10 Tournament first round on Sunday at 2 p.m.

RINDGE, N.H. (February 24, 2007) - Franklin Pierce and Assumption College will tangle for the second-straight year in first round action of the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball championship, presented by Anaconda Sports, at the Fieldhouse on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Admission to the game will be six-dollars ($6) for adults and three-dollars ($3) for students, senior citizens and children. Franklin Pierce students with ID present at the door will be admitted free of charge, courtesy of the athletics department.

Eighth-seeded Franklin Pierce (17-10, 13-9 NE-10) will seek revenge from ninth-seeded Assumption (12-15, 9-13 NE-10), who posted a commanding 72-51 triumph over the Ravens in last year's first round battle between the identically-seeded clubs. Senior Jess Paulson (North Providence, R.I./LaSalle) led four Greyhounds in double-figures in that game with 15 points, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor (2-3 three's) in 20 minutes off the bench. All-Northeast-10 forward Heather Jacobs led Franklin Pierce with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks on the afternoon.

Franklin Pierce will face its third-straight game without the services of NE-10 Player of the Year candidate, freshman Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) due to injury, after a season in which she broke no less than 17 program records. She leads the Conference with 23.1 points and four assists per game, while also ranking high among NE-10 leaders with 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a block per game.

Sophomore sister Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy) will lead the Ravens tomorrow, averaging 12.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.67 steals per game. She is averaging 24 points, two rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals in the two games without her younger sister, including a career-best 34 points last Saturday at Merrimack College. Sophomore Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) is averaging 6.8 points for the Ravens, coming off a career-high 28-point outing in Tuesday's win over Saint Michael's College in their regular season finale.          

Franklin Pierce is ranked sixth in the NE-10 in scoring offense (66.1 ppg) and eighth in scoring defense (60.7 ppg). The Ravens lead the Conference with 12.96 steals per game, forcing the opposition into a Conference-high 23.8 turnovers per contest. Assumption is sixth in the NE-10 for scoring defense (58.7 ppg) and tenth in scoring offense (60.7 ppg).

Sophomore Beth Plasski (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) leads Assumption with 13 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game this season. Junior Charde Floyd (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) is averaging 12.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals per contest, while freshman Kayla Parker (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) contributes 10.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing.

Sunday marks the 26^th meeting all-time between these two programs, the third in postseason play and second in the NE-10 Tournament. Assumption holds a 16-9 advantage in the all-time series, but Franklin Pierce swept the regular season series this winter, notching a 70-53 victory in Worcester, Mass., back on November 21, before capturing a 61-58 triumph at the Fieldhouse on January 23. The Greyhounds have won each of their two previous postseason encounters, including last year's victory in the NE-10 Tournament first round.

Johannah Leedham averaged 26.5 points, seven rebounds, six assists and 4.5 steals in the Ravens two wins over the Greyhounds this season. Jennifer Leedham averaged 10.5 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Power added 9.5 points (including 19 on November 21). Floyd averaged 16 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals over Assumptions two games against Franklin Pierce this season, while Parker added 14.5 points and five rebounds.

The two clubs combined to average 52 turnovers over the two contests this winter, with Franklin Pierce shooting 43.1-percent (44-102) over the two games, including 34.9% (15-43) from three-point range, compared to 40.7% (44-108) shooting from Assumption, including just 2-for-21 (9.5%) shooting from beyond the arc.

The winner of tomorrow's match up will advance to Tuesday's quarterfinal round to face top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Southern Connecticut State University (25-2, 20-2 NE-10) at 7 p.m. The semifinal round and championship game will be played in a "Final Four" format at the highest remaining seed on Friday and Saturday (March 2 & 3) with semifinal contests scheduled for 6 and 8 p.m., on Friday, and the championship game Saturday at 7 p.m.

All Northeast-10 Tournament contests are available on a pay-per-view basis ($6.99 ea) via www.ne-10.tv. Special tournament packages are available through the site. All Franklin Pierce contests will also be broadcast via WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and simulcast via the athletics website at www.franklinpierce.edu /athletics, with pregame coverage starting approximately 10 minutes before tip-off.

 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship
presented by Anaconda Sports

Sunday, February 25
First Round (Campus sites)
Game 1: #12 Merrimack (7-20, 5-17 NE-10) at #5 Stonehill (20-7, 15-7 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Game 2: #11 Le Moyne (9-18, 5-17 NE-10) at #6 Pace (20-7, 15-7 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Game 3: #10 Saint Michael's (11-15, 8-14 NE-10) at #7 Bryant (18-9, 14-8 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Game 4: #9 Assumption (12-15, 9-13 NE-10) at #8 Franklin Pierce (17-10, 13-9 NE-10), 2 p.m.

Tuesday, February 27
Quarterfinal Round (Campus Sites)
Game 5: Game 1 winner at #4 Bentley (21-6, 16-6 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner at #3 American International (21-6, 16-6 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 winner at #2 Saint Rose (20-7, 16-6 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner at #1 Southern Connecticut State (25-2, 20-2 NE-10), 7 p.m.

Friday, March 2
Semifinal Round (at highest remaining seed)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 3
Championship
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.