Three Ravens score in double-figures, including 15 points off the bench from Kirsten Doldoorian and 10 from Marielle Giroud; Leedham tosses in 25

BOXSCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. (January 2, 2009) – The second-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team returned to Northeast-10 Conference action after a two-week layoff on Saturday afternoon, and in the process, returned to its winning ways in league play with a 78-66 win at Southern New Hampshire in Manchester. The Ravens improved to 11-0 overall and 7-0 in conference action, while SNHU dipped to 8-6 overall and 4-3 in the NE-10.

Senior standout and two-time reigning Northeast-10 Player of the Week Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) led the Raven attack with a spectacular game of 25 points, seven rebounds, nine steals, four assists and two blocks.

Classmate Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass.) came off the bench to drop in 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, including a strong 3-of-5 effort from behind the arc. She also collected three rebounds, swiped two steals and dished out an assist. Sophomore forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) was Franklin Pierce’s other double-figure scorer with 10 points, while also recording five rebounds, two assists and a block.

Other notable offensive performances by the Ravens was eight points from junior center Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I.) and seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from junior guard Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.).

Franklin Pierce, as a team, shot a solid 51 percent (27-of-53) from the field, including 39 percent from three-point range (7-of-18).

Southern New Hampshire also had a strong offensive game as it shot 45 percent (24-of-53) from the field. Four Penmen scored in double-digits, including Ashara Carrington (18 points), Jenny McDade (16 points), and Sloane Sorrell and Megan Spanarkel with 10 points apiece.

Despite its strong shooting, Southern New Hampshire could not overcome its 25 turnovers, which the Ravens turned into 25 points.

McDade came out firing for Southern New Hampshire and scored her team’s first two baskets in the opening minutes as the game was tied at four a little more than two minutes into the contest.

However, Leedham converted a pair of free throws which sparked an 18-4 surge by Franklin Pierce over a seven-minute span to give the Ravens a 22-8 advantage with 10:41 left in the half. Leedham had five points during the rally, while Giroud chipped in with four. In all, six Ravens scored during the run, including baskets from Gaudet, Doldoorian, Ahrens and Alexis Auffray (Cornwall, N.Y.).

SNHU would fight back over the next several minutes and trim the deficit to five at 28-23 with 5:08 remaining on a three-point play from Magdala Johnson.

Again, Franklin Pierce would answer with another extended rally. The Ravens out-scored the Penmen, 21-7, the rest of the half to take a commanding 49-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. Ahrens kick-started the run with four-straight points and Doldoorian followed with four-straight points of her own. Leedham aided the run with a three-pointer, followed by a trey from Doldoorian.

Franklin Pierce held onto its double-digit lead the entire second half as Southern New Hampshire would never threaten again. The Ravens led by as much as 23 points on multiple occasions in the final 20 minutes as they cruised to their 11th-straight win to open the season.

Franklin Pierce returns to action on Wednesday night when it travels to New York to face Pace at 5:30 p.m. For more information on the Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, and to follow live stats of its contest at Pace, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)