Brittany Martelle pours in 20 points

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (March 2, 2014) – Sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) logged a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball dropped a tough 81-77 decision to Adelphi in a thriller on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Championship in Garden City, N.Y.

The Ravens, seeded fourth in the Northeast Division of this tournament, fell to 16-12, while the top-seeded Panthers of the Southwest Division improved to 21-6, and advanced to Thursday’s semifinals.

Senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) pumped in 20 points for the Ravens, while classmate Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) added 14.

The Ravens shot the ball very well on the afternoon, connecting on 50 percent of their attempts, including a blistering 62 percent (8-of-13) from three-point range.

Adelphi was led in scoring by Jessica Kitrys, who poured in a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting. Two Panthers tallied double-doubles, including Calli Balfour (16 points & 13 rebounds), and Sade Jackson (13 points & 11 rebounds).

The Ravens, who trailed early in the second half, used an 11-5 run midway through the frame to build a 59-52 lead with 9:13 remaining. Four different Ravens scored during the run, including a three-pointer apiece from Martelle, Coderre, and freshman guard Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.). Charette added a layup as well, and the Ravens seemed to be regaining control of the momentum.

But in a game of wild momentum swings, Adelphi slowly fought back with five-consecutive points, including a pair of foul shots from Kitrys, and a three-point play from Jackson.

The teams traded baskets before Kelly Mannix bombed in back-to-back triples with 4:16 to go to put the Panthers up by two at 67-65.

Junior forward Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) and Charette each made shots moments later to knot the score up each time, but Adelphi began to find an answer for each Ravens’ attempt. Kitrys scored five crucial points down the stretch, while Balfour added four of her own, and Adelphi never let the Ravens regain the lead late.

Adelphi’s win denied Franklin Pierce’s bid of sweeping the two-game season series from the Panthers this season. The Ravens had downed the Panthers, 97-88, back on Jan. 29 in Rindge when the Panthers were in first place in the SW Division of the league standings.

Adelphi came out firing early in the game, and scored the first seven points, but Franklin Pierce regrouped, eventually opening up a pair of 10-point leads. Coderre’s triple with 1:38 left until halftime staked the Ravens to a 38-28 edge, but Adelphi scored seven of the stanza’s final nine points to pull within 40-35 at intermission.

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(.)