Pace hits game-winning basket with just :02 remaining

BOXSCORE

WALTHAM, Mass. (March 11, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team's bid for a fourth-straight NCAA East Regional Championship came to a heart-breaking end on Friday afternoon as Brittany Shields hit a foul-line jumper with just :02 remaining to lift Pace to a 64-62 win over the Ravens in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. The third-seeded Ravens concluded their 2010-11 season with a 24-8 record, while the sixth-seeded Setters improved to 23-8 and advanced to Sunday's second round versus either Holy Family or Goldey-Beacom.

Four Ravens scored in double-figures, including junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.), who logged her 22nd double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) and sophomore backcourt-mate Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) chipped in with 13 points apiece, while junior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) added 12 points.

Shields, who hit the game-winning basket, paced the Setters with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Brittany Huggins followed with 16 points. Lisa Welsome rounded out Pace's double-digit scorers with 15 points.

Franklin Pierce was making its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 10th all-time appearance in program history. The Ravens had won each of the last three NCAA East Regionals to advance to the Division II Elite Eight. Despite suffering the setback, the loss did not deter from an amazing season for the Ravens, who were ranked in the national poll throughout a majority of the season and saw them finish second in the regular season Northeast-10 Conference standings.

After a sluggish first half, Franklin Pierce came out strong in the second half and out-scored Pace, 13-6, to pull within 42-41 with 12:51 left. White powered the early surge with eight points, while Coderre aided it with a three-pointer.

Coderre bomed in a pair of triples minutes later, and Johnson added one of her own, and Franklin Pierce rallied to take a 52-50 lead with 9:40 to go. Pace knotted the score on the next possession, but Coderre and Johnson followed with layups on back-to-back possessions to put the Ravens up 56-52.

The teams swapped baskets in the closing minutes and Shields came up huge for Pace in the final minute with her game-winning shot.

Franklin Pierce out-rebounded Pace 34-31 and shot 48 percent (23-of-48) from the floor, but 19 turnovers hurt the Ravens, including several late which denied them the opportunity to pull away for the win.

Both teams traded baskets in the opening two minutes of the game, but Franklin Pierce then used a brief 5-0 run, capped by a triple from freshman guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) to open up 10-5 advantage with 14:25 left in the half.

However, Pace countered with a 5-0 run of its own, including a three from Welsome, to knot the game at 10, and the teams went back to trading baskets over the next few minutes. The Setters, though, seemed to settle as the half went on, while Franklin Pierce struggled to gain back any momentum. Pace used it to its advantage and went on a 15-6 run late in the half to take a 34-24 lead with 1:11 left. The Setters eventually took a 36-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

White led Franklin Pierce with nine points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, while Welsome paced the Setters offensive attack with 10 points.

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).