PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (November 10, 2017) – Franklin Pierce University women's basketball freshman guard Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) came off the bench and tallied a team-high 15 points in her first career collegiate game as the Ravens dropped a season-opening non-conference contest to Wilmington (Del.) University 79-67 Friday night at the Campus Center Gym on the property of Holy Family University. With the win, the Wildcats move to 1-0 on the year and the Ravens begin the campaign with their first loss.

Holmes took a team-high 15 shots in 26 minutes off the pine, as she played the most minutes of any bench player in her collegiate debut. Fellow high school and current teammate Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) was four rebounds shy of a double-double as she totaled 10 points, on 4-of-8 (50.0%) shooting to go along with six boards and a team-high three steals.

Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) found herself in foul trouble early as she picked up three fouls in the first quarter, finished with 14 points in limited minutes. Freshman guard Hannah Everidge (Baldwinville, Mass.) manufactured 10 points to cap off the Raven's double-digit scorers. Senior forward Diondra Woumn (Lynn, Mass.) led all Pierce players with nine boards.

For the Wildcats, Macy Robison produced a double-double with a game-best 24 points and 10 caroms. Emma Matthews added 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. La Shyra Williams picked up a game-high six steals in the victory.

The contest was a sloppy affair as both teams combined for 46 total turnovers. Wilmington slimly outrebounded the Ravens (43-to-39) and they held the advantage in steals (18-to-10) and points in the paint (38-to-22). Franklin Pierce could not get their shot to fall in this one as they made only 34.3% (23-of-67) of their attempts and were 24.0% (6-of-25) from downtown.

Franklin Pierce held a 4-0 lead about a minute into the game which as their largest lead of the contest as Thacker dished off the rock twice to Mayo for layups down low. Robinson put her team within one as she buried a three-ball. With the Ravens ahead 6-5, Homes came off the bench and buried her first career-collegiate attempt, a three-pointer to up the Ravens lead back to four, 9-5. The Ravens four-point edge remained until a 13-1 run by the Wildcats pushed them ahead by eight 20-12 with 1:12 left in the quarter.  Thacker ended the scoring binge with an old-fashioned three-point play to cut into the deficit. Franklin Pierce held the rock for the last possession and Holmes made it count as she drained a jumper with nine ticks left as FPU trailed by four at the end of one.

Both teams traded buckets to begin the second as Everidge hit a trey and freshman forward Hannah Martin (Woodland Hillis, Calif.) tipped in an offensive board to keep the Ravens within two possessions at 27-22. Holmes accounted for the next seven points for the Ravens as she singlehandedly put the Ravens ahead 29-27 with 4:20 left before the break. However, FPU went cold from the field as they did not notch another bucket and Wilmington tallied a mini 8-0 binge to hold a 35-29 halftime lead.

The Raven's cold spell continued into the third quarter until sophomore guard Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) followed her own shot and made a tip-in to cut the deficit to two possessions. An 8-2 scoring run by the Wildcats pushed their lead to double figures for the first time as Emma Matthews manufactured a jumper to increase her teams lead to 45-33. The Wildcat advantage hovered around double figures until six straight points by the Ravens put them with seven at 52-45 with 2:08 left in the quarter. Ebonee Dixon converted a layup down low with 33 seconds left to keep the Wildcats lead intact at 58-49.

In the fourth with eight minutes to go, Thacker poured in a three-pointer to make the score 60-54 in favor of Wilmington. Immediately following the good three-ball, Emma Matthews made a jump shot and two freebies while Macy Robinson converted a layup to increase the Wildcat lead back to 12 with 6:04 to play. The Ravens brought the deficit down to 10, but could not get any closer as they dropped their season opener to Wilmington.  

The Ravens remain in the city of brotherly love tomorrow as they take on host Holy Family University at 7:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens ), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).