Johannah Leedham moves into fourth place in NCAA Division II women's basketball history for career scoring with 2,653 points; tops 400-mark for career steals and moves into 15th in Division II history with 404 thefts; moves into tie for first place in Northeast-10 women's basketball history for career field goals made with 894

BOXSCORE

EASTON, Mass. (February 3, 2010) – The top-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team kept to its winning ways Wednesday night with a 71-50 triumph over Stonehill at Merket Gymnasium in Easton, Mass. The Ravens, who stood in first place in the Northeast-10 standings entering the game, improved to 20-0 overall and 16-0 in league play. The Skyhawks, who entered the game in a three-way tie for second place in the NE-10, fell to 17-6 overall and 12-4 in conference action.

Franklin Pierce has won 33 of its last 34 games overall and 25-straight regular season games dating back to the end of last season. The Ravens also improved to 9-0 since becoming the No. 1 team in the USA Today/ESPN WBCA Division II National Top-25 Poll back on Jan. 5. The win for the Ravens was also their sixth-consecutive by a margin of 20 points or more.

Senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) had a terrific all-around game and accomplished several career feats in the process. She pumped in a season-high 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field to bump up her career total to 2,653 points. Leedham’s career point total is now the fourth highest in NCAA Division II women’s basketball history. The 14 field goals gave Leedham 894 for her career, which moved her into a tie for first place in Northeast-10 women’s basketball history for career baskets. Leedham is tied with American International’s Juana Garcia, who also tossed in 894 baskets during her brilliant career from 1992-96. Leedham will have the opportunity to move into sole possession of first place in the category on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., when the Ravens take on Southern New Hampshire in The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

Leedham wasn’t done there as she also recorded six rebounds, four assists, eight steals and four blocks. The eight steals pushed Leedham over the 400-plateau for her career as she currently has 404, which is good enough for 15th place all-time in Division II history. She now needs just 20 more steals to move into the top-10 in that category, thus making her the only player in Division II women’s history to rank among the top-10 in both scoring and steals.

Junior guard Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) was Franklin Pierce’s other double-figure scorer with 13 points. She also totaled four rebounds and four assists. Classmate Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I.) had four points, six rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) continued her strong play as of late with six points, four rebounds, three steals and a block coming off the bench.

Leedham scored nine points during the first four minutes of the game to spark a 14-3 surge by Franklin Pierce. The Ravens continued their hot offensive play throughout the remainder of the first half and built upon their lead and eventually took a 47-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Leedham scored 24 points during the opening 20 minutes on a sterling 10-of-13 shooting from the floor. She also handed out four assists and swiped three steals during the period. Gaudet also provided a strong spark offensively for Franklin Pierce as she netted 10 points. White came off the bench to toss in five points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field, including beating the first-half buzzer with a layup off a pass from Leedham.

The Ravens shot 54 percent (19-of-35) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while limiting the Skyhawks to 29 percent (8-of-28) from the field. Franklin Pierce outrebounded Stonehill, 19-16, and forced the Skyhawks into 11 turnovers, scoring 14 points off of those.

Stonehill came out more aggressive in the second half and went on an 8-2 run to trim its deficit to 49-33, seven minutes in.

However, Franklin Pierce countered as Leedham scored the team’s first nine points of the period to put the game out of reach.

Stonehill was led in scoring by Tania Williams and Erin Gray, who had 10 points each. The Skyhawks came into Wednesday night receiving honorable-mention votes in the WBCA Division II Poll.

The Ravens return to action Saturday when they play host to Southern New Hampshire at 1:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Fans who cannot attend the game can follow it online via audio, video and/or live stats through the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)