Brooke Coderre had 12 points including five straight in a crucial stretch in the second half

RINDGE, N.H. (February 8, 2014) – Sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) pumped in a game-high 23 points, and the Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team shook off a slow start to rally from 19 points down for an important 73-66 win over Assumption on Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

The Ravens won their second straight and ninth in the last 11 to improve to 13-8 overall and 10-6 in the Northeast-10. More importantly, Franklin Pierce moved two full games ahead of Assumption (12-9, 8-8 NE-10) for third place in the Northeast Division, which would bring with it a first-round bye in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Championship later this month. Just five games remain in the regular season, as the Ravens definitely gave themselves a cushion for the potential first-round bye with Saturday’s triumph.

Charette scored 11 of her points in the second half, including five straight over a 60-second span to give Franklin Pierce its first lead of the game at 59-58 with 6:09 remaining. Her three-point play on a layup and free throw put the Ravens on top.

Jamie Insel notched a three-point play of her own at the other end of the court for Assumption, but Charette answered moments later with a layup to tie it.

Senior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) reeled off five-consecutive points of her own moments later to put Franklin Pierce up 66-64, but Tafanie Roye countered with a layup to knot the score once again at 66-all.;

Franklin Pierce, again, had an answer and sophomore guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) rained in a crucial three ball with 90 seconds left to make it 69-66.

Assumption couldn’t find an answer for Gardner’s triple, and junior forward Jessica Hurd (Cambridge, Mass.) hit four-straight free throws in the final minute to seal the come-from-behind win.

Senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) added 15 points for the Ravens, while Coderre threw in 12. Hurd’s four free throws were her only points of the contest, but she did come up huge on the boards with 11 rebounds to help give Franklin Pierce a 48-36 advantage on the glass.

Insel had a team-high 16 points for the Greyhounds, while Roye followed with 14 and Shannon Ray chipped in 12.

Ray converted a pair of free throws and Insel dropped in a layup to stake Assumption to an 18-4 lead a little more than six minutes into the game.

Charette then got going with four-straight points and scored all 12 of her points in the first half after the Greyhounds got out front by the 14-point margin. While Charette and the Ravens started heating up, Assumption didn’t fold and eventually took a 31-12 advantage with 7:05 left until halftime following a Caitlin Ackerman layup.

Franklin Pierce, though, finally kicked into full stride after that and scored 19 of the ensuing 24 points to pull within five at 36-31 with 1:34 left. Five different Ravens scored during the run, and Charette had two free throws to make it just a five-point game. Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.), who had eight points off the bench for Franklin Pierce, converted a pair of free throws during the rally, while Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) and Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) each chipped in three points.

Assumption eventually took a 39-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Ravens return to action Tuesday night when they play host to Southern New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at http://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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women’s basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)