Ravens hot first half the difference in posting 12th win in 13 tries

Boxscore 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 16, 2009) -  Franklin Pierce University, ranked 25^th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll and first in the East Region rankings, rolled to its 12^th win in 13 contests with an 88-66 decision over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium tonight.

Junior All-American and Great Britain international Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)), the reigning State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, led a balanced Franklin Pierce effort with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field, 2-for-5 from three-point range, to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 26 minutes of play. Senior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) added ten points, four rebounds and three steals. 

Senior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) and junior Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass./Oxford), a transfer from Saint Anselm, each netted 11 points as they combined to shoot 7-for-11 from the field and 6-for-9 from beyond the arc off the bench. Doldoorian added four rebounds and finished shooting 3-for-6 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point land, while Power made 4-of-5 shots from the field, including 3-for-4 from deep.

Freshman Megan Howard (Saint Paul, Minn./Central) posted a double-double to lead Saint Anselm with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Senior Justine Lyons (Reading, Mass./Reading) netted a game-high 17 points, aided by 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, three rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Jennifer Gureckis (Nashua, N.H./New Hampton Prep) also buried 4-of-7 three-pointers in scoring 16 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.

Franklin Pierce finished shooting 51.7-percent (31-for-60) from the field, after connecting at 55.9% (19-34) in the first half to build a 16-point (48-32) halftime lead. The Ravens buried 11-of-22 (50%) three-pointers, including 8-for-14 (57.1%) in the opening half. Saint Anselm finished shooting 39.7-percent (23-for-58) from the field after hitting at 48.1% (13-27) over the opening 20 minutes. The Ravens also posted a 25-11 advantage in points off turnovers on the night, turning the ball over 14 times compared to 21 for the Hawks.

Franklin Pierce never trailed, using a 15-5 run over a seven minute span to put its lead into double-figures for the first time (28-14) after a layup from freshman Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) and a three by Doldoorian just past the midway point of the half. The Ravens lead peaked at 18 (47-29) after a Jennifer Leedham three with 1:39 to go before halftime, before the visitors settled on the 16-point (48-32) advantage at the break.

Saint Anselm closed within 12 (51-39) after a layup by junior Courtney May (Lakeville, Mass./Apponequet Regional) with 17:20 to play, but Franklin Pierce used a 13-5 spurt over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 20 points (64-44) after back-to-back Doldoorian three's and the Ravens were never seriously threatened again. The Ravens lead grew to as much as 26 points on two occasions in the final ten minutes before settling at the 22-point winning margin.

Franklin Pierce (19-5, 16-4 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it visits Assumption College at 5:30 p.m. The Ravens return home next Saturday, February 21, for their WBCA PinkZone event against American International College at 1:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (4-21, 2-18 NE-10) hosts Saint Michael's College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.