Ellesmere Port, England, native collects fifth award of the season (11th career) after leading Ravens to first Northeast Regional Championship
Ahrens also named NE-10 Freshman of the Week

RINDGE, N.H. (March 19, 2008) – Two members of the Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team collected weekly awards from the Northeast-10 Conference after helping the Ravens capture their first NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championship over the weekend.

Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) was named the NE-10’s Player of the Week for the fifth time this season (11th career) after earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Northeast Regional. She averaged 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 4.0 steals over the Ravens three wins, shooting a combined 51.9-percent (28-for-54) from the field and converting 22-of-25 (88%) free-throw attempts for the weekend.

Leedham posted her seventh double-double of the season (17th career) in Monday’s 88-71 victory over top-seeded, host and No. 4-ranked Holy Family University in the regional final with 31 points and ten rebounds to go with three assists and three steals. She posted 30 points, converting a program record 14-of-14 free-throw attempts, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the Ravens 68-56 second round victory over second-seeded and No. 8-ranked Stonehill College. Leedham opened the NCAA Tournament with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in Friday’s 66-54 win over sixth-seeded Dominican College.

Leedham, the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, leads the Conference with 22.7 points and 3.4 steals per game, while also adding 6.7 rebounds (12th NE-10) and 4.0 assists (5th) per game. She is shooting 48.3-percent from the field (9th), including 35.8% (53-148) from three-point range (8th), and converts 83% of her free-throws (6th). In addition to her NE-10 Player of the Year award, Leedham is a State Farm/WBCA All-America finalist and Daktronics All-Northeast Region selection and first team All-NE-10 pick this season.

Leedham has set no less than 23 program records, some of which she has broken a second time. With her 31 points on Monday, Leedham broke the program’s single-season scoring record of 706 points set by Shelia Lindsay in 1987-88 and she also broke her own single-season steals record over the weekend with her 109 thefts this year.

With her program-record 727 points this season, Leedham has moved into sixth place on Franklin Pierce’s career scoring list with 1,305 points – having become the fastest player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season (44th career game). She also ranks third in program history with 209 career steals and tenth with 46 career blocked shots.

Ahrens earned NE-10 Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season after averaging 5.7 points and four rebounds in Franklin Pierce’s three wins at the Northeast Regional. She made 66.7-percent (8-for-12) of her shots from the field. Ahrens posted eight points and three rebounds in the Ravens opening round win over Dominican and registered five points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot in Saturday’s second round victory over Stonehill.

Ahrens is averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds (3rd team) in 16.3 minutes off the bench this season for Franklin Pierce. She has led the Ravens in scoring once and rebounding seven times.

In addition to the two major awards, senior forward Josie Lidke (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) and junior guard Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) were both named to the NE-10’s weekly honor roll.

Leedham earned All-Tournament team honors at the Northeast Regional as she averaged 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, four assists and three steals in Franklin Pierce’s three NCAA Tournament wins. Lidke added 11 points, 3.7 rebounds and a steal at the regional.

Franklin Pierce (27-5, 18-4 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday, March 26, with a national quarterfinal against the University of Alaska Anchorage, ranked ninth nationally, at the NCAA Division II Women’s Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb.