Women's Basketball Wins Second-Straight with 68-57 Win Over SCSU on Saturday
Giroud logs double-double; White just misses out on fifth-straight double-double but has solid 15 points and nine rebounds
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 15, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team avenged an early-season loss to Southern Connecticut on Saturday with a 68-57 triumph over the Owls at the Moore Field House in New Haven, Conn. The Ravens improved to 12-5 overall and 8-3 in the Northeast-10, while SCSU dipped to 6-10 and 2-9 in league play.
In Franklin Pierce's 71-60 loss to Southern Connecticut back on Dec. 11 in Rindge, the Ravens struggled on the defensive end and were out-rebounded by a double-digit margin. Saturday's victory was a completely different story as Franklin Pierce owned a 49-35 advantage on the glass and limited SCSU to just 36 percent shooting (25-of-70) from the field, including a 17-percent clip (3-of-17) from behind the arc.
Seven of the nine Ravens that played pulled down multiple rebounds, including a career-high 17-rebound effort from junior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland). Giroud ended the game with a double-double as she tossed in a game-high 20 points.
Junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) just missed out on her fifth-consecutive double-double as she tossed in 15 points and ripped down nine boards. Giroud and White were efficient in their shooting as Giroud was 7-of-11 from the field and White was 5-of-8 from the floor. On the defensive end, White swatted away a pair of shots while Giroud logged a block.
Junior guard Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) was Franklin Pierce's other double-digit scorer with 12 points, while sophomore guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) and freshman backcourt-mate Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) chipped in with eight and six points, respectively.
Shelley Pierson led the Owls with 16 points and Keshia Primo added 10 points in the setback.
Franklin Pierce set the tone early by opening the game on a 10-1 run, including getting four points apiece from White and Giroud, and a layup from McDonald.
The Ravens took a double-digit lead at 14-3 with 12:45 remaining in the half as Giroud laid in a basket. Franklin Pierce kept its lead between 8-to-14 points the rest of the half in building a 32-21 lead at halftime.
Southern Connecticut State could not mount any sort of run in the second half, and the Ravens kept their lead around double-digits the entire way. Franklin Pierce led by as many as 17 points in the half, including at 44-27 midway through the frame following a layup from White. The Ravens cruised the rest of the way in picking up the win, which was their second-straight overall.
Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday night when the Ravens travel to Worcester to take on Assumption at 5:30 p.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).