East Region Champion Ravens set to open second-straight national quarterfinal appearance against Atlantic Region title holders  

Game Notes (PDF) 

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (March 23, 2009) - No. 14-ranked and East Region champions Franklin Pierce University, regular season and tournament champions of the Northeast-10 Conference, will make its second-straight appearance at the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships Elite Eight when it squares off against Atlantic Region champions California University of Pennsylvania in a national quarterfinal tomorrow night at Saint Mary's University's Bill Greehey Arena at 7 p.m. (EDT).

Admission for each individual session is $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for students and senior citizens. All session passes are available for $30 for adults and $18 for students and seniors. WFPC-LP 105.3 FM will provide the call back to the Monadnock Region, with the broadcast also streamed over the internet at athletics.franklinpierce.edu. NCAA Productions will be providing a live video webcast at www.ncaa.com, also linked through Franklin Pierce's athletics website.

Franklin Pierce (27-5, 18-4 NE-10) captured its second-straight regional championship with a 78-54 triumph over third-seeded Stonehill College at the NCAA II East Regional, hosted by Holy Family University, in Philadelphia last Monday. Junior All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) put a cap on Most Outstanding Player honors at the regional for the second-straight season as she led all scorers with 24 points (17 first half), five rebounds, four assists and six steals for Franklin Pierce. Senior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) wrapped up a tremendous weekend by earning All-Tournament team honors as she netted a season-high 18 points (12 second half) on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, while converting all six free-throws to go with six rebounds. Senior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) also earned All-Tournament team honors as she contributed 11 points, hitting 3-of-5 three-pointers, and five assists. Freshman Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) rounded out the Ravens double-figure scorers with 12 points, six rebounds (three offensive), three assists and three blocked shots.

California (29-4, 13-1 PSAC) advanced to the Elite Eight for the second-straight year and fourth time overall with a 64-40 victory over third-seeded Gannon University to claim the Atlantic Region crown last Monday. Junior All-American Brooque Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) registered a double-double with a game-high 28 points (17 second half), ten rebounds (three offensive), four steals and two assists. Sophomore Kayla Smith (Elkins, W.V./Elkins) nearly posted her third double-double of the regional tournament, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds (four offensive), while senior guard Lindsay Johnson (New Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) added ten points and eight rebounds.

The winner of tomorrow night's matchup will advance to Wednesday's national semifinal round for a 9:30 p.m. (EDT) tipoff against the winner of tomorrow's final quarterfinal between #24 Delta State University and 11^th-ranked West Texas A&M University. The semifinal round games will be broadcast live on ESPNU, while Friday's National Championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. (EDT).

Franklin Pierce, making its seventh NCAA Division II Tournament appearance this season after earning the Northeast-10 Conference's automatic bid, will try to improve on last year's showing at the Elite Eight. The Ravens, who also earned NCAA bids in 1992, '93, '94, '98, '99 and 2008, dropped a tough 71-65 overtime decision to the University of Alaska-Anchorage in last year's national quarterfinals in Kearney, Neb. Johannah Leedham earned All-Tournament team honors at the Elite Eight for her double-double performance of 31 points and career-best 18 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals against the Seawolves.

Franklin Pierce, winners of a season-best 11 in a row, have posted a 21-1 record since the New Year and has won 23 of its last 25. The Ravens lead the NE-10 in scoring (74.1 ppg), scoring margin (+12.6), field goal percentage (.444), assists (16.9/gm) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2). They also rank second in blocked shots (4.2/gm), steals (10.2/gm), turnover margin (+3.0) and three-point field goals (7.5/gm) and third in three-point shooting percentage (.363). The Ravens have scored 80-plus points 14 times this season, posting a 13-1 record in those games with the lone loss a double-overtime setback to Grand Canyon University back on December 30 in Phoenix. 

Franklin Pierce is led by the Leedham sisters, the All-East Region combo, who has combined to average 34.9 points this season, accounting for 46.0-percent of the Ravens scoring output. One or the other sister has led Franklin Pierce in scoring in all but four games (89 of 93) over the last three seasons, including 30 of the Ravens 32 contests so far this year.

Johannah, named the Daktronics East Region and Northeast-10 Player of the Year for the second straight season, leads the NE-10 in scoring for the third-straight year, averaging 23.1 points (6^th nationally) and a Conference-best 3.1 steals per game to go with 6.2 rebounds (19^th NE-10), 3.1 assists (14^th) and 1.4 blocked shots per contest (6^th). She is shooting 49.6-percent (238-for-480) from the field (9^th), including 37.4% (73-195) from three-point range (8^th), and converting 86.5% (166-192) of her free-throw attempts (6^th), while her 2.4 three-point field goals per game share the Conference lead.

Jennifer, a Daktronics All-Region and All-Northeast-10 second team selection this year as well as the NE-10's Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, a Conference-best 5.2 assists and 2.1 steals (5^th) per game in a team-high 32.4 minutes per game.

Martin earned All-Tournament team honors at the East Regional after averaging 13.3 points and 3.3 rebounds over Franklin Pierce's three regional wins, shooting 55-percent (11-for-22) from the field, including 5-for-12 (41.7%) from three-point range, converting all 13 free-throw attempts for the weekend. This season, she has averaged 6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists and enters tomorrow night's game with 900 career points including the 462 she scored in her freshman season at Thomas College in Maine.

Sophomore Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) leads the NE-10 in field goal percentage, making 56.4-percent (97-172) of her shots from the field, contributing 7.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

California (Pa.) enters the Elite Eight in search of its second National Championship in program history after claiming the crown in 2004. The Vulcans are led by Williams, the two-time All-American, who averages a double-double with 22.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game to go with 3.2 assists and 3.6 steals per game. She is shooting 50.8-percent (296-583) from the field this season, but just 2-for-12 (16.7%) from beyond the arc and converting 68% (136-200) of her free-throw attempts.

Smith adds 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, while Johnson rounds out the double-figure scorers with 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per contest.

California is shooting 46-percent from the field this season, including 36.5% from beyond the arc, while converting 65.6% of its free-throw attempts. The Vulcans score 77.5 points per game while holding the opposition to just 55.2 points for a +22.3 scoring margin.

Tomorrow night marks the first ever meeting between these two programs. Franklin Pierce is 6-2 all-time against members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) after rolling to an 85-59 victory over then No. 11-ranked Shippensburg (Pa.) University at the Trip Sports Grand Canyon Classic, in Phoenix, over the holidays. California (Pa.) posted a 75-49 victory over Shippensburg at home in the lone meeting of the season back on January 11. The Vulcans are 4-4 all-time against Northeast-10 Conference members.

2009 NCAA Division II
Women's Basketball Tournament Elite Eight
hosted by San Antonio Sports Commission & Saint Mary's University
Bill Greehey Arena * San Antonio, Texas

Quarterfinals
Tuesday, March 24
#22 Michigan Tech vs. #4 Minnesota State-Mankato, Noon
#2 Alaska-Anchorage vs. Clayton State, 2 p.m.
#14 Franklin Pierce vs. #6 California (Pa.), 6 p.m.
#24 Delta State vs. #11 West Texas A&M, 8 p.m. 

Semifinals
Wednesday, March 25 (ESPNU)
Michigan Tech/Minnesota St winner vs. Alaska-Anchorage/Clayton St. winner, 6 p.m.
Franklin Pierce/Cal. (Pa.) winner vs. Delta State/W. Texas A&M winner, 8:30 p.m.

National Championship (ESPN2)
Friday, March 27
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.