Jasmyra Saunders goes for season-high 12 points for the Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (January 17, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team struggled offensively on Tuesday night and dropped a 67-46 decision to No. 24 nationally ranked Assumption at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens had their three-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 11-5 and 8-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Greyhounds improved to 12-4 and 9-3 in league play.

A trio of Ravens scored in double-figures, including senior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) and graduate guard Jasmyra Saunders (Trenton, N.J.), who netted 12 points apiece. Giroud also logged her third double-double in the last four games as she pulled down 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench and scored in double-figures for the fourth-straight game as she chipped in with 10 points.

Katy Howard paced Assumption's impressive offensive attack with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a strong 5-of-6 effort from three-point range. Kelly Meredith pumped in 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Gabrielle Gibson came off the pine to chip in 11 points.

Assumption shot an impressive 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor, including a 40-percent clip (6-of-15) from behind the arc.

Their strong play wasn't limited to the offensive end, but also came on the defensive end, which frustrated the Ravens the entire night. The Greyhounds forced Franklin Pierce into 20 turnovers and scored 26 points off of those. Assumption limited the Ravens to just 35 percent shooting (20-of-58) and only seven-percent shooting (1-of-15) from three-point range.

Despite the lopsided final margin, the opening minutes of the game proved to be very competitive as Assumption clung to a slim 12-11 lead with 14:55 to go in the frame. Meredith helped stake the Greyhounds to the early lead on the strength of her 10-consecutive points after an opening basked by Howard.

Franklin Pierce was able to remain close, thanks in part to six-straight points from Martelle, which were sandwiched between a layup and three free throws from Giroud.

Assumption, though, began to pull away and went on a 10-0 run, highlighted by five points apiece from Howard and Katie Cullerot, to gain a 22-11 advantage with 8:57 to go in the half.

Saunders stemmed the tide with a layup at the 8:28 mark, but the Greyhounds held the Ravens to without a field goal the remainder of the stanza in building a 29-14 lead at halftime. Franklin Pierce's only point after Saunders' basket came via a foul shot from sophomore guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.).

Assumption continued to push the pace in the opening minutes of the second half and eventually went up by 22 at 38-16 just three minutes into the frame after a triple from Howard. The Greyhounds continued to add to their lead over the next few minutes and went up by 30 at 52-22 with 13:26 remaining following a pair of Meredith free throws. That was Assumption's largest lead of the night as it would not let Franklin Pierce get any closer than 18 points the rest of the way in closing out the victory.

The Ravens return to action Saturday when they travel to New York to face the Pace Setters at 1:30 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).