Third-seeded Ravens to take on sixth-seeded Pace in first round on Friday

2011 NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT INTERACTIVE BRACKET

2011 NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT BRACKET (PDF)

RINDGE, N.H. (March 6, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team earned an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday night. The Ravens, who are coming off an appearance in this weekend's Northeast-10 Conference final, will be making their fourth-straight appearance in the national tournament.

The Ravens earned the No. 3 seed in this year's East Regional and will take on the sixth-seed and NE-10 rival Pace University Setters in the first round on Friday. Game time is still to be determined, but the East Regional will be held at the Dana Center on the campus of Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. Bentley is the No. 1 seed in the East Region and earned the right to host the tournament after claiming the 2011 Northeast-10 championship on Sunday with an 85-71 win over the Ravens.

The rest of the first round match-ups in the East Region include Bentley taking on the No. 8 seed C.W. Post, fourth-seeded Assumption facing fifth-seeded Saint Rose, and second-seeded Holy Family meeting seventh-seeded Goldey-Beacom. The winner of the Franklin Pierce-Pace contest will face the winner of Holy Family/Goldey-Beacom in the second round.

Franklin Pierce (24-7) earned an at-large bid to this year's NCAA Tournament following an impressive regular season and run to the NE-10 tournament finals. The Ravens finished second in the conference this year after going 18-4 in league play, and winning 14 of its last 16 games heading into the NCAAs.

Pace earned a spot in the Division II tournament after going 22-8 overall and 15-7 in the NE-10 this season. The Setters finished fifth in the NE-10 and advanced to the conference's quarterfinals.

Franklin Pierce and Pace met once this season back on Jan. 5 in Rindge, as the Ravens pulled out a last-minute 69-68 triumph. Junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) led the Ravens with 18 points and a then-season high 19 rebounds, while classmate Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) added 16 points and eight boards. Giroud's two free throws with just seconds remaining were the difference in Franklin Pierce picking up the win and snapping a two-game losing streak at the time. Brittany Shields sparked Pace's offensive attack with a game-high 28 points.

The Ravens have won the last three East Regionals to earn a spot in the Division II Elite Eight. Franklin Pierce won the 2008 East Region in Philadelphia and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Elite Eight where it dropped a tough overtime decision to Alaska-Anchorage. The Ravens also won the East Region in Philadelphia in 2009 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game, which was aired live on national television on ESPN 2. Last season, Franklin Pierce hosted the East Regional as the top-seed and defeated Holy Family in overtime in the final round, while ultimately advancing to the Final Four. The Ravens are 12-3 in their last 15 NCAA Tournament games. Overall, it's Franklin Pierce's ninth trip to the national tournament (1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011).

The winner of the East Region will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held March 22-25 at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo. Missouri Western State University will serve as the host for the national quarterfinals.

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).