Marielle Giroud Hits Game-Winning Free Throw w/ :00.5 Remaining to Lift Women's Basketball to 50-49 Win Over AIC
Jewel White goes for double-double; Brooke Coderre hits huge shot late to tie the game
RINDGE, N.H. (January 22, 2010) -- Junior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) hit a free throw with :00.5 remaining in regulation to lift the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to its fourth-straight win with a 50-49 triumph over American International on Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 14-5 overall and 10-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Yellow Jackets fell to 12-6 and 8-5 in league play.
Giroud ended the game with nine points and nine rebounds. Her ninth and final rebound came off a missed shot with just two seconds remaining. She quickly flipped the ball up towards the basket, but in the process was fouled, thus sending her to the line to complete the game-winning free throw. After making her first attempt, she missed the second one, but AIC's desparation cross-court three-pointer was not fired off in time before the final buzzer sounded. Giroud was a point and rebound shy of totaling her third-consecutive double-double.
Junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.), though, did complete the double-double on the afternoon as she had a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds. She also swiped two steals and blocked three shots. Sophomore guard Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) came off the bench to score in double-figures for the second-consecutive game as she had 11 points, while also getting four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Three Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures, including Josephine McLane and Michelle Lafond with 11 points apiece, and Adriana Johnson with 10 points.
The early stages of the first half were closely contested before AIC used a 13-2 run over the final 3:07 to take a commanding 30-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. In addition to getting timely shots late in the first half, the Yellow Jackets benefitted from multiple turnovers and several missed shots by the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce, though, shook off the sluggish late first-half play and opened the second half on an 11-2 run, highlighted by five points from White and four from Giroud, to pull within 32-31 with 15:23 remaining in the game.
The game immediately went back to its tightly contested ways and remained that way the rest of the regulation as the lead never grew larger than four points for either side.
Despite the impressive run by the Ravens, they could not get over the hump and take the lead until freshman guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) knocked down a triple from the left wing with 6:25 remaining to put Franklin Pierce on top 45-44. After giving the Ravens the lead, McDonald extended her team's advantage on the next possession with a 15-foot jumper to make it 47-44.
AIC rallied with five-consecutive points to retake the lead at 49-47 with 3:54 to go, but freshman guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) knotted the game at 49 for Franklin Pierce with 2:01 left as she dribbled down the lane for a driving layup. Coderre had only four points in the game, but her tying basket was arguably the biggest of the game as she made it with the shot clock winding down to zero. Coderre has helped the Ravens out tremendously on the offensive end in the last two games, as she also tossed in a game and career-high 18 points in Wednesday's 75-72 win at Assumption. Three of her 18 points came off a deep three-pointer with a little over 30 seconds remaining in the game, which eventually proved to be the game-winning shot.
Saturday's game would remain tied until the final second when Giroud stepped up with the heroic play to earn the win for Franklin Pierce. The Ravens in the second half held a 20-8 advantage in points in the paint and a 9-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Eight of the nine Ravens that played in the game scored as the team shot 39 percent (19-of-49) from the field. Franklin Pierce also held a 37-35 advantage on the glass.
Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday when the Ravens travel to face Adelphi 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 even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).