Despite loss, Ravens still clinch Northeast-10 regular season championship

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (February 17, 2010) – The No. 1 nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team suffered its first setback of the 2009-10 season on Wednesday night as Merrimack played a strong game in upsetting the Ravens, 71-64, in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens fell to 23-1 overall and 19-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Merrimack improved to 10-15 overall and 8-12 in league play.

Despite the loss, Franklin Pierce still clinched the 2010 Northeast-10 regular season championship as Bentley dropped a 64-61 decision to UMass-Lowell during the evening. It marks the second-consecutive year the Ravens won the league’s regular season title outright. By earning the championship, Franklin Pierce earns home court advantage throughout the Northeast-10 Tournament, which will be held from Feb. 27 through March 7.

Senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) dropped in 31 points to move into third place in NCAA Division II women’s basketball history for career scoring with 2,775 points. She stands 25 points shy of becoming just the 16th player all-time in NCAA women’s basketball history (Divisions I, II & III) to score at least 2,800 points for her career.

Leedham will have the opportunity to accomplish the feat on Saturday as the Ravens take on Bentley in Waltham, Mass. at 12 p.m. in the Dana Center. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS College Sports Network and worldwide on the web at www.ncaa.com(.) Fans in the New England area who do not get CBS College Sports do not have to worry as the game will also be broadcast live on NESN (New England Sports Network).

In addition to her high point total on the evening, Leedham also had 12 rebounds to give her the double-double. She also added five assists, four steals and one block. The four steals gave her 417 for her career and moved her into 12th place in Division II history in that category.

Junior guard Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) was Franklin Pierce’s other double-figure scorer on the night as she had 11 points.

Four Merrimack players scored in double-figures, including Sarah Benischek (18 points), Casey Miller (15 points), Tiffany Colon (12 points) and Katie Ganser (10 points).

The game featured 12 lead changes and six ties. The largest lead by either side was seven points, which came in the game’s final margin.

Franklin Pierce held a 37-36 lead at halftime as Leedham had 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Ravens held a 62-58 advantage with 3:58 left in the game, but the Warriors responded by scoring nine-straight points to take a 67-62 lead with :42 to go.

Senior guard Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass.) stemmed the tide with a layup just seconds later, but that would be as close as Franklin Pierce would get it.

Merrimack made its free throws down the stretch and blocked a pair of three-point attempts in the final seconds to end Franklin Pierce’s streak of 28-straight regular season victories.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)