Leedham sisters lead Ravens into first place with combined 42 points

Boxscore 

RINDGE, N.H. (January 17, 2009) - Franklin Pierce University, among other teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, moved into first place in the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball standings with an 89-63 victory over the University of New Haven at the Fieldhouse this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (12-4, 9-3 NE-10), winners of a season-best six-straight and eight of nine, are now tied with No. 10 Stonehill College (14-3, 9-3 NE-10) after the Skyhawks dropped a 70-68 decision at The College of Saint Rose this afternoon. The two teams are now a full game ahead of four other NE-10 teams, although tied with Pace University (10-4, 7-3 NE-10) in the loss column.

Franklin Pierce was again led by the sister combination of senior Jennifer and junior All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) who combined for 42 of the Ravens season-high matching 89 points. Jennifer led all scorers with 22 points (11 each half), hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers and converting all eight free-throws, to go with seven assists, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Johannah, the reigning State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, added 20 points (12 first half), six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Junior Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass./Oxford) contributed 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range, to go with three offensive rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench. Senior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) chipped in nine second-half points.

Senior Lauren Hood (Ashland, Mass./Ashland) led New Haven with 14 points (11 first half), aided by 6-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, to go with five rebounds and two assists. Junior Alysia Saunders (Bronx, N.Y./Aquinas) was the only other Charger in double-figures with ten points (all second half), making all six free-throw attempts, and a game-high matching eight rebounds. Junior Helin Marte (Woodhaven, N.Y./Richmond Hill) chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Franklin Pierce, which has now scored 80-plus points in four-straight games and seven of its last eight, finished shooting 44.4-percent (28-for-63) from the field, including 45% (9-of-20) from three-point range, after making 51.6% (16-31) in the second half. New Haven was held to just 31.1-percent (19-for-61) shooting from the field, including a mere 25.9% (7-27) in the second half, and made just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc.

Franklin Pierce carried a six point lead (41-35) into halftime, but New Haven opened the second half with six-straight points, four from Saunders to forge the fourth tie of the game (41-41) with 18:15 remaining. The Ravens responded with a 17-6 spell over the next five minutes to regain a double-digit lead (58-47) with 13:45 left. Martin and Jennifer Leedham sparked the run with three-pointers, while sophomore Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) added a conventional three-point play and Johannah Leedham totaled six points during that stretch. 

Two free-throws from sophomore Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty (Newington, Conn./Newington) got New Haven back within single-digits (58-49), but Franklin Pierce reeled off a 20-6 run over the following eight minutes to break the game open (78-55) after two Jennifer Leedham free-throws with 5:22 to go. Doldoorian chipped in five points during the deciding stretch, including a three-pointer. 

Franklin Pierce looked to be well on its way to victory when a Johannah Leedham three-pointer capped a 14-5 run that put the Ravens up 13 (32-19) with 5:46 left in the first half. New Haven quickly closed the gap to four (32-28) with a 9-0 spurt in less than two minutes, sparked by five points from Hood.

Franklin Pierce is back in action on Tuesday for a key NE-10 match up with Assumption College at the Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m. The Greyhounds are one of the four teams that trail the Ravens and Stonehill by a game in the ever-tightening NE-10 standings. New Haven (10-7, 5-7 NE-10) hosts the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.