Johannah Leedham leads all scorers with 30 points for Ravens

COLCHESTER, Vt. (November 17, 2007) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team opened its 2007-08 season with a 74-61 victory over Mercy College on day one of the Doubletree Tip Off Classic, hosted by Saint Michael’s College, at Ross Sports Center tonight.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire (Conn.) Academy) picked up where she left off after a record-breaking freshman campaign, with a game-high 30 points as she hit 9-of-18 shots from the field, including 2-5 from three-point range, and converted 10-of-12 free-throw attempts. Leedham also added five rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Sophomore Jess McPherson (Croydon, Australia) added a career-best 11 points and five rebounds (four offensive), while freshman Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) chipped in nine points, four rebounds (all offensive), four assists and four steals in her collegiate debut.

Freshman Delmara Reece (Yonkers, N.Y./Saunders) led Mercy with 17 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field (1-1 three’s), nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Freshman Ashley Finnegan (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) contributed 12 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and two steals, while classmate Ashley Borofsky (Southington, Conn./Southington) chipped in 12 points, two blocks and two assists.

Franklin Pierce opened a ten-point lead (37-27) at the break, holding Mercy to 30.8-percent (8-for-26) shooting from the field in the first half. Both teams shot well in the second half, with the Ravens converting at 48.4% (15-31), including 4-for-6 (66.7%) from three-point range, while the Mavericks hit 56.5% (13-23) over the final 20 minutes from the field. Franklin Pierce out-rebounded Mercy 44-34, resulting in a 14-4 advantage in second chance points, and turned 32 Maverick turnovers into 29 points at the other end.

Franklin Pierce (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action tomorrow when it faces Saint Thomas Aquinas College (0-1, 0-0 ECC), who dropped a 63-55 decision to host Saint Michael’s in tonight’s second game, at 1 p.m. Mercy (0-1, 0-0 ECC) will face Saint Michael’s (1-0, 0-0 NE-10) at 3 p.m.