Jewel White adds 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win for the Ravens

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (December 30, 2011) -- The No. 19 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team closed out the 2011 C.W Post Holiday Classic with a 66-61 win over the host-school Pioneers on Friday night at the Pratt Center in Brookville, N.Y. The Ravens won both of their games in the tournament and improved to 8-3, while C.W. Post dipped to 8-5.

Senior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) had a memorable night for the Ravens as she tossed in a game-high 24 points to go over the 1,000-point mark for her career. She entered the game with 999 points and right off of the opening tip she drained a jumper to accomplish the career feat. She shot 9-of-11 from the field, pulled down eight rebounds, handed out a pair of assists and swiped two steals. Giroud also became the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Classmate Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) also had a strong game with 21 points (8-of-14 shooting) and 11 rebounds for her second double-double in as many days. Sophomore guards Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) and Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.), and junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) each chipped in with five points.

Franklin Pierce shot 53 percent (24-of-46) from the floor, and for the second-straight game, turned in a solid performance on the defensive end by limiting the Pioneers to just 35 percent shooting (24-of-68). 

Samantha Kopp paced C.W. Post with 19 points, while Alexis Peters and Felicia Joyner followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Giroud scored four points in the opening minutes of the game as Franklin Pierce raced out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Ravens extended their advantage out to as many as 10 points in the first half in building a 27-19 lead at halftime.

C.W. Post countered with a 12-2 run in the opening four minutes of the second half to take a 31-29 lead. Kopp sparked the surge with seven points, while Catherine Lutz aided it with a three-pointer.

McDonald, though, rallied Franklin Pierce with a deep triple to put the Ravens back on top 32-31 with 15:39 remaining.

From there the game would settle into a back-and-forth affair with a couple of lead changes and five ties.

Kopp laid in a basket with 5:55 remaining to knot the score at 52-all, but White followed with four-straight points on a layup and a pair of free throws to stake the Ravens to a four-point advantage (56-52) with 4:15 to go.

White converted a three-point play moments later to push Franklin Pierce's lead out to 59-54, and with under a minute left, laid in a basket to give the Ravens a comfortable seven-point cushion. C.W. Post tried to claw its way back into the game with a couple of desparation baskets, but it was too late as the Ravens sealed the win.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when the Ravens play host to Southern Connecticut State at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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).