Leedham stands at 2,569 points for her career; also tied for 19th in Division II history for career steals with 391

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BOXSCORE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 23, 2010) - The No. 1-ranked Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team took the sting out of the American International College Yellow Jackets on Saturday with a 65-44 victory in Springfield, Mass. The Ravens improved to 17-0 overall and 13-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while AIC dipped to 6-12 and 4-9 in league play.

The big news of the day was yet another record that senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) broke, this time becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. She tossed in 17 points to bring her career total to 2,569, thus surpassing former Franklin Pierce great Sheila Lindsey, who scored 2,564 points during her fabulous career in Rindge from 1984-88.

The scoring honor capped another stellar week for Leedham, who on Tuesday was featured in Sports Illustrated and its "Faces in the Crowd" section for becoming the NE-10's all-time leading scorer two weeks ago in both men's and women's basketball history. She also earned the Northeast-10's Player-of-the-Week award on Monday, which marked the fifth time overall and the fourth time in the last five weeks that she earned the prestigious honor.

In addition to Leedham's point total, she also recorded eight rebounds, four assists and five steals. The thefts gave Leedham 391 for her career, which moved her into a tie for 19th place all-time in NCAA Division II women's basketball history.

Junior center Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I.) tossed in 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, while freshman Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) and junior Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) chipped in eight points apiece. Gaudet also swiped three steals.

Marie Li Sicard led all AIC scorers with 11 points.

Franklin Pierce scored the game's first six points, including four from Leedham, to open up a lead that it would never relinquish. Gaudet and Ahrens laid in back-to-back baskets moments later and the Ravens lead was extended to 12-2 with 16:20 remaining in the half.

AIC did claw back and pull within three at 14-11 four minutes later following a jumper by Sasha Lowery. However, senior guard Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass.) answered with a jumper, which then sparked six-consecutive points from Leedham and a layup from Ahrens, to put the Ravens up by double-digits at 24-12 with six-and-a-half minutes left to play in the period.

Franklin Pierce would continue to build on its double-digit lead and would go up 31-16 with 2:18 left in the half when Leedham drained a three-pointer from the right corner. That triple did not just add to the Ravens lead, but was the actual shot that gave Leedham the all-time scoring record in program history.

Sophomore forward Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.), who had did a solid job on the boards in the first half, converted a layup with only seconds remaining in the half to give the Ravens a 33-18 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

The Ravens held a commanding 20-6 edge in points in the paint in the first half, while also holding a 13-4 advantage in fast-break points. Franklin Pierce shot a strong 43 percent (12-of-28) from the field, while limiting the Yellow Jackets to just 24 percent shooting (7-of-29).

Franklin Pierce kept up the offensive intensity in the opening stages of the second half and used a layup from Gaudet and a trey from sophomore forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) to take a 38-18 lead two minutes in.

American International would never threaten the rest of the way. Saab and senior guard Alexis Auffray (Cornwall, N.Y.) each knocked down three-pointers during the second half to aid the cause as the Ravens improved to 6-0 since becoming the nation's top-ranked team back on Jan. 5.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when it plays host to Adelphi at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Fans who cannot attend the game can follow it online via audio and/or live stats through the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)