SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 11, 2020) – Franklin Pierce University women's basketball sophomore forward Izzy Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) notched her third double-double of the season and ninth of her collegiate career with a team-high 18 points and game-best 10 rebounds as the Ravens almost overcame a double-digit second-half deficit in a 63-58 setback to Northeast-10 Conference opponent American International College Saturday afternoon at the Butova Gym. With the win, the Yellow Jackets move to 5-11, 2-6 NE10 while the Ravens skid to 6-8 and remain winless in league play.

Lipinski began the contest cold, shooting only 2-of-6 (33.3%) from the hardwood. She turned it on after that going 5-of-9 (55.5%). She also corralled a game-high four offensive rebounds. Lipinski was joined in double-figures by teammate Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine). Holmes poured in 18 markers while snagging three boards. Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt.) chipped in eight points and six rebounds – three offensive while Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) stuffed the stat sheet with six points, a game-high six helpers, six rebounds and a contest-best three steals.

For AIC, Rashana Siders poured in a game-high 21 points while Destine Perry was clutch in crunch time scoring all 15 of her points in the fourth quarter. Both squads struggled to shoot the rock and Pierce had eight more free throw attempts, but they only converted at a 51.9% clip.

Holmes started the contest collecting the opening tip and going to the rack slashing through the left side for the hoop and harm. AIC produced six in a row to snag their first lead of the game. FPU tied it up off a Carter drive and one Lipinski free throw. Kayla Robinson poked the ball away and went uncontested to the hoop to up their score to four, 10-6. With the Ravens down by one, AIC outscored them 9-1 over the final minutes of the quarter to lead 19-10.

Their run expanded to 12-1 when Siders connected on another trifecta to expand their advantage to 22-10. A Sammi Gallant (Ipswich, Mass.) free throw and a pass to Holmes for a floater cut the margin to 22-15. Pierce came within five, 24-19 when a Sulejmani outlet pass off a missed AIC shot to a streaking and wide open Lipinski for a deuce reestablished a two-possession game. AIC was up by seven at the intermission.

AIC notched four straight points to kick off the second half to lead 33-22 following a Jayla McDuffie lay-in. Lipinski then subtracted a few points off the Yellow Jacket lead shaving it to eight, 33-25 when Lipinski banged down an attempt from the lower-left block. A Sulejamani drive from the top of the point put Pierce with seven as the squads traded points throughout the remainder of the quarter.

In the fourth and final quarter, Lipinski continued attacking in the paint. She knocked down a layup through contact, however, she missed the freebie. Gallant then perfectly delivered a pass from the top of the key to Lipinski for another post score to bring the margin down to 42-39 with 8:32 remaining. Perry countered with a trifecta for her first points of the game. Holmes traded blows with Perry connecting on a right corner trey to again keep the margin at three. Perry immediately buried another shot from deep to reestablish the two-possession Yellow Jacket advantage. 48-42 with 5:47 to go.

On the next two Raven trips down the court, they put in points. Rylee Skinner (Leominster, Mass.) split her free throws and Lipinski deadlocked the duel 48-48 with another old fashioned three-point play at the 4:12 mark. After a timeout for AIC, they ran a backdoor cut play and Perry sank the layup. She clanked the free attempt and Holmes on the Raven possession swished a trey to put Pierce in the driver's seat briefly. Siders responded with a contested triple of her own on the right-wing to open up a two-point AIC edge 53-51 with 3:15 to go.

The host kept tacking on points to up the margin to two scores, 56-51 with 2:19 remaining. The next two Raven possessions led to points, Carter sank a three on the right-wing and after a Carter possession saving rebound, Holmes provided a three from the top of the point to push in front 57-56. Sulejmani nearly had an and1 opportunity, but her shot attempt swirled the rim and rimmed out. She was 50% at the stripe then Perry added her 13th point of the quarter off a baseline take to give the home team a slim one-point lead, 59-58. Franklin Pierce had a few chances to regain the advantage, but couldn't get over the hump.

Franklin Pierce will conclude their road trip on Tuesday, January 14th against Le Moyne College at 5:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://www.fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the women's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensWBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/franklin_pierce_wbb/).