Hot-shooting first half propels third-seeded Ravens past sixth-seeded Chargers; Jo. Leedham leads the way with 21 points

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 14, 2008) – Third-seeded Franklin Pierce University, ranked 18th in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, rolled to a 66-54 victory over sixth-seeded Dominican College (N.Y.) in opening round action of the 2008 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship’s Northeast Regional, hosted by Holy Family University, at Campus Center Gymnasium this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (25-5, 18-4 NE-10) advances to tomorrow’s second round where it will face second-seeded and eighth-ranked Stonehill College (27-4, 19-3 NE-10) at 6 p.m. The Skyhawks advanced with a 67-58 victory over seventh-seeded Bryant University (20-12, 12-10 NE-10) in today’s first game. Dominican completes its season at 22-9 overall, including a 14-3 record in the CACC, making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

The win is Franklin Pierce’s program-best 25th of the year, surpassing the previous best of 24 set in 1991-92 and matched in 1997-98. The Ravens also remain perfect all-time against Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference competition with a 9-0 mark. The win is also Franklin Pierce’s second all-time in the NCAA Tournament (2-5), snapping a string of two-straight NCAA Tournament defeats.

“It’s great to get a win in the regional tournament,” said Franklin Pierce Head Coach Mark Swasey. “We were loose and relaxed and I thought we showed a lot of maturity recovering from last week’s performance in the NE-10 tournament.”

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 21 points as she shot 8-for-17 from the field, to go with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. The four steals give her a program-record 101 for the season, breaking her previous record of 100 set last season, and 201 in her career. Leedham also moved into the top ten on Franklin Pierce’s career scoring list as her 1,244 career points are good for ninth in program history.

“It was a good start and got us rolling,” said Leedham. “We are excited to play Stonehill tomorrow. We have a good opportunity and I think we owe it to ourselves to play well after last week.”

Sophomore Jess McPherson (Croydon, Australia) added 11 points, hitting 5-of-7 shots from the field, to go with six rebounds. Freshman Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) collected eight points, making all four shots from the field she took, while junior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds. Senior Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) chipped in eight points.

Junior Althea Chambers (Yonkers, N.Y.) led Dominican with a double-double effort of 15 points and a season-high 15 rebounds (five offensive) to go with three steals. She made 9-of-12 free-throws on the night. Sophomore Adele Laskowski (Wayne, N.J.) added nine points and four steals, while freshman Shanice Scully (St. Albans, N.Y.) chipped in eight points off the bench.

Franklin Pierce shot 47.2-percent (25-for-53) from the field, including 57.1% (16-for-28) in the first half. Dominican was held to 25.4% (16-for-63) shooting from the field, including 3-for-24 (12.5%) from three-point range. The Chargers shot 21.2% (7-33) in the field half, misfiring on all 11 three-point attempts.

Franklin Pierce never trailed, scoring the first eight points of the contest, including the first six by McPherson. The Ravens lead was 11 (15-4) after an Ahrens lay-up with 11:52 to play in the first half, and Dominican responded with six-straight points from Chambers to close within five (15-10) with 9:40 to go.

“I got great passes from my teammates,” said McPherson of her early scoring run. “There wasn’t really any help side defense, so they were easy lay-ups.”

Franklin Pierce responded, using a string of nine-straight points to gain a 15-point lead (30-15) after an Ahrens lay-up with 4:08 to go in the half. She had four points during that stretch and Johannah Leedham added a conventional three-point play.

“We did a good job of setting our tempo and running the floor early on,” said Swasey.

The Ravens carried a 14-point lead into halftime (35-21) and they quickly gained a 19-point edge (40-21) after a Leedham three and fast break lay-up by Gaudet less than a minute into the second half. The Chargers closed within 13 (48-35) after a three-pointer by Laskowski with 12:11 to go, but Franklin Pierce opened a game-high 21-point lead after a Lidke lay-up with 8:18 to go and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.