Fourth-consecutive season Franklin Pierce takes home the NE-10's Player-of-the-Year award; Giroud is second player in program history to win defensive player-of-the-year honor

RINDGE, N.H. (February 25, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball program continued to add more impressive individual accolades to its history on Friday as junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year, and classmate Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. By earning those top yearly awards, both players were named to the All-NE-10 First-Team for the first time in their careers.

"This is a very exciting moment in Franklin Pierce women's basketball history," head coach Steve Hancock said. "All the credit goes to the players for their hardwork and determination to keep the momentum going from the past couple of seasons that we've had here at Franklin Pierce. I really enjoy coaching both Jewel and Marielle and I couldn't be more happier for them."

White earned the conference's player-of-the-year award after averaging a double-double during the regular season with 18.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. Her high scoring average came about from her shooting an outstanding 59 percent (194-of-329) from the floor. White scored in double-figures in every game this season, while also registering 19 double-doubles, including three straight to conclude the regular season. She scored 20 points or more 10 times, including tossing in a career-high 34 points at Nova Southeastern on Dec. 17. White ripped down at least 14 rebounds in 10 games, including a season-high 20 boards in a 90-87 overtime win over No. 17 Bentley last Saturday in Rindge.

White ranked among the league leaders in several statistical categories, including scoring (second), rebounding (first), field goal percentage (first), blocked shots (fourth, 1.54 bpg), offensive rebounding (first, 3.82 orpg) and defensive rebounding (first, 8.04 drpg). Her rebounding average was a full two boards better than the nearest competitor and White was just 1.4 points shy of having the highest scoring average in the NE-10.

White's amazing 2010-11 regular season came on the heels of a fantastic finish to the end of last season. She was named to the Northeast-10 All-Championship Team after helping to lead the Ravens to the tournament title. White collected the honor with 15 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in the win over Stonehill in the tournament final. White continued her strong play in the NCAA Division II Tournament East Regional, where she earned a spot on the All-Regional Team after averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds during the semifinals and finals as Franklin Pierce captured its third-straight East Regional championship.

White's player-of-the-year award marks the fourth-consecutive season the Franklin Pierce program has earned the honor, as former standout Johannah Leedham took home the prize each of the three previous years.

Giroud earned the conference's defensive player-of-the-year award after ranking among the league leaders in both rebounding and steals. She ranked sixth in the league in rebounding at 8.8 boards a game, while ranking fifth in thefts at 2.11 a game. She also ranked 15th in the NE-10 in blocked shots with 0.75 a game. Giroud collected double-digit rebounds in nine games, including seven with 13 or more. She had back-to-back monster games on the glass midway through the season as she ripped down 17 rebounds in a 68-57 win at Southern Connecticut State on Jan. 15, and then followed with a career-high 18 boards in a 75-72 win at Assumption on Jan. 19. She scored in double-figures in both of those games to tally two of her nine double-doubles on the season. Eight of those came via double-digit points and rebounds, but the other came in a 17-point, 11-assist performance in an 80-71 win at Saint Michael's on Feb. 8.

Giroud wasn't just a force on the defensive end, but also a major factor at the other end of the court as she averaged a career-best 14.5 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor (132-of-268). She also handed out 3.57 assists per game and had a 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Giroud scored 19-or-more points in six games, including a career-high 35 points in the win over Bentley last week. She averaged 29.5 points over the final two games of the regular season.

In addition to ranking among the league leaders in rebounding, steals and blocks, Giroud also ranked eighth in scoring, 10th in field goal percentage, seventh in assists, 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio, seventh in offensive rebounding (2.79 orpg) and sixth in defensive rebounding (5.96 drpg). Giroud tied with White for 10th in the league in minutes played at an average of 33.07 per contest.

Giroud becomes the second player in program history to earn the top defensive award from the NE-10, joining former standout and current assistant coach Jennifer Leedham, who took home the accolade during the 2008-09 season.

White and Giroud, along with the rest of the Franklin Pierce women's basketball team are gearing up for the Northeast-10 playoffs which begin this Sunday with the first round. The Ravens, who have won each of the last two NE-10 tournament championships, earned a first-round bye as they concluded the regular season with a 22-6 overall record and an 18-4 mark in league play, which was good enough for second place in the standings. Franklin Pierce begins its quest for a third-straight title on Tuesday when it will play host to either Saint Michael's or UMass-Lowell in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Tickets for the post-season game can be purchased at the door and are $7 for adults, $4 for children and seniors and $1 for college students. Franklin Pierce students showing their college ID at the door will have the cost of their ticket paid for, courtesy of the Department of Athletics.

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/FraklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).