Ravens clinch first round bye for upcoming NE-10 Tournament, reach 20 wins for first time in nine seasons

RINDGE, N.H. (February 16, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked 21st in this week’s USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll and third in the NCAA Northeast Regional rankings, clinched a first round bye for the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Tournament with a 77-57 victory over Merrimack College in NE-10 women’s basketball action at the Fieldhouse today.

Franklin Pierce (20-4, 15-4 NE-10) clinches a first round bye for the first time since joining the Northeast-10 in 2000 and moves into sole possession of second place in the Conference standings, a game behind leaders Stonehill College (20-4, 16-3 NE-10) with three games to play. The Ravens are a full game ahead of third place Assumption College (20-6, 14-5 NE-10), after its loss to 15th-ranked Stonehill today, and Franklin Pierce holds the head-to-head tiebreak over the Greyhounds as a result of its regular season series sweep.

With the victory today, Franklin Pierce also reaches the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign – the last time the Ravens earned an NCAA Tournament berth. The Ravens are in good position to earn its sixth NCAA bid in program history.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) again led the way for Franklin Pierce as she scored 18 of her game-high 28 points in the opening half and finished shooting 7-for-13 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, while converting 10-of-11 free-throw attempts. She also added team-high totals of seven assists, six rebounds and three steals on the day.

Freshman Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) added ten points and four rebounds for the Ravens in 12 minutes off the bench. Junior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) contributed nine points, while classmate Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) chipped in eight points, eight assists and six boards.

Senior Kara Borelli (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) led Merrimack with 14 points as she hit 5-for-8 shots from the field and converted 4-of-5 free-throws to go with five rebounds. Senior Ashley Brownlee (Portland, Maine/Portland) finished with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while junior Amanda Shannon (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) chipped in eight points.

Franklin Pierce shot 47.4-percent (27-57) from the field, including 51.9% (14-27) in the second half, and made 45% (9-20) of its three-point attempts in the contest, including a blazing 6-of-8 (75%) in the second half. Merrimack snapped the Ravens streak of seven-straight games of holding the opposition under 40-percent shooting by shooting 43.4% (23-53) from the field, but connected on just 2-of-21 (9.5%) three’s. Franklin Pierce also enjoyed a 41-25 rebounding advantage.

Franklin Pierce never trailed as the Leedham sisters connected off the tip off, with Johannah taking a pass from Jennifer and scoring a lay-up and adding a free-throw just four seconds into the contest. The Ravens led by as much as 15 (32-17) in the first half after a Johannah Leedham three with 6:22 to play.

Franklin Pierce settled for a nine-point (39-30) halftime lead, but grabbed immediate control in the second half, as a 15-4 start to the stanza put the Ravens up 20 (54-34) six minutes in after a Jennifer Leedham three. The Ravens lead grew to as much as 25 (64-39) with 9:40 to play and Merrimack never got within 16 the rest of the way.

Franklin Pierce is back in action on Tuesday, when it travels to Colchester, Vt., to face Saint Michael’s College, ranked seventh in the region, at 5:30 p.m. Merrimack (9-17, 5-15 NE-10) is back in action next Saturday when it visits Stonehill at 1:30 p.m.