Jewel White goes for double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 11, 2012) -- Senior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) netted 13 points, including laying in the winning basket with :05 remaining to lift the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to a 47-46 win over Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym in Manchester, N.H. The Ravens won their third straight to improve to 16-7 overall and 13-6 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks fell to 13-12 and 7-12 in league play.

Giroud, who also logged a double-double with 10 rebounds, tossed in the winning basket after she took a pass from the left wing with :09 left, dribbled around a defender towards the center of the lane, and when she reached the paint, drove hard for the layup which went over the outstretched hands of multiple Saint Anselm defenders and into the bottom of the net.

Giroud had struggled offensively to that point by only converting on 4-of-12 field goals, but she didn't let it phase her confidence as she was able to drop in one of her patented layups which have become a staple of her four-year career.

Despite the basket, there was still time left on the clock for the Hawks to try and pull off a miracle victory. Saint Anselm quickly inbounded the ball and with a second left Meg Morrissey launched a three from the right wing which came up short, thus sealing the victory for Franklin Pierce.

Giroud's layup was two of Franklin Pierce's 18 points in the paint in the second half, as the Ravens held an 18-10 advantage in that category in the second 20 minutes. Franklin Pierce made an effort of taking more high percentage shots in the second half after struggling in the first half making only 20 percent (5-of-25) of its attempts. Despite the poor opening half shooting, the Ravens regrouped in the second and shot a strong 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor. 

Giroud's classmate, center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.), also logged a double-double with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) had a solid all-around game with four points, a game-high six assists, a game-high five steals and four rebounds.

Tori Lehr netted a game-high 19 points for Saint Anselm, while Megan Howard followed with 10 points.

Neither team found any offensive rhythm in the first half. Junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) laid in a basket with 11:40 remaining in the frame to put the Ravens up 10-5. Franklin Pierce, however, went cold for the next six-plus minutes failing to score, while Saint Anselm was able to reel off 10-consecutive points to grab a 15-10 lead. Lehr kick-started the surge with a jumper and totaled six points during it.

Sophomore guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) was able to snap the Ravens out of their shooting funk with a jumper with 5:01 to go and the teams traded baskets over the remaining minutes of the frame before Saint Anselm took a 19-15 lead into halftime.

The teams continued to trade baskets in the opening minutes of the second half before the Hawks were able to put in consecutive jumpers from Lehr and Howard to stake them to a 27-21 lead. Lehr tossed in another jumper with 11:14 remaining to give Saint Anselm a 36-27 lead, which seemed to be a comfortable margin, considering Franklin Pierce's shooting woes.

The Ravens didn't fold and netted eight-straight points, including five from White and a triple from sophomore guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.), to pull within one at 36-35 with 9:18 left.

Franklin Pierce kept it close over the remaining minutes of the game, but could never take the lead. The Ravens did tie it at 45-45 with 1:13 left as White established position in the post, took a pass on the low block, turned and laid it in for the equalizer. Morrissey made 1-of-2 free throws with :39 left to give Saint Anselm a slim 46-45 edge, but it was quickly erased by Giroud's winner seconds later. Her basket with :05 left was the Ravens first lead of the second half.

Franklin Pierce completed the two-game regular season series sweep of the Hawks, as the Ravens picked up a victory in Rindge back on Dec. 4 in The Fieldhouse. 

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when the Ravens travel to Waltham, Mass. to take on Bentley at 5:30 p.m. at the Dana Center.

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).