RINDGE, N.H. (January 22, 2020) – Four different players scored double digits for the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team as they recorded their second consecutive Northeast-10 Conference victory outlasting Southern Connecticut State University 79-56 at the Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. Sophomore guard Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) finished with her second career double-double while classmate Izzy Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) recorded her 11th career double-double and fifth of the season in the winning effort. With the win, the Ravens improve to 8-9 on the season including 2-8 in conference play while the Owls swoop to 8-10, 2-8 NE10.

Sulejmani matched her career-high pouring in 18 points while shooting 8-of-10 (80%) from the field and she doled out a season-best and game-high 11 assists. She also racked up a team-high three steals and corralled sox boards.

Lipinski scored double-digit points for the seventh consecutive game finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds – four offensive shooting a perfect 9-of-9 (100%). The conference leader in field goal percentage (61.2%) has gone an unconscious 23-of-25 (92%) the past two games in both Raven victories.

Junior guard Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) paced Pierce with 20 points on the night making it the fifth time this season she has scored 20 or more points. Junior team captain Hannah Everidge (Baldwinville, Mass.) established a new career-high by producing 13 points (5-of-8, 62.5%) and snaring seven rebounds – three offensive in 21 minutes off the bench.

A trio of Owls reached double-figures led by Alexa Kellner who finished with a match-best 22 points. Imani Wheeler added 18 points while dishing out a team-high six assists and four thefts while Jessica Fressle pitched in 10 points and a contest-best five steals. The other five players for Southern Connecticut contributed a combined six points in the losing effort.

FPU dominated the stat sheet as the crimson and grey held the edge for 39:21 in the showdown. They outshot (53.3%-to-28.8%), outrebounded (46-to-31) and outproduced their counterparts in the post (42-to-12), but SCSU notched 21 points off the 22 Raven mistakes.  

The game started quickly with Holmes making a layup off the opening tip. The Owls proceeded to take a 7-6 lead but that would be the last time the Ravens would trail the rest of the game as they went on a 16-0 run to open up a double-digit lead. Kellner made a jumper ahead of the horn for Southern Connecticut but Franklin Pierce still held a 22-9 advantage after the first quarter. Sulejmani matched the Owls scoring effort on her own scoring nine points in the first frame while going 4-of-4 from the field. As a team, the crimson and grey shot 66.7% from the hardwood.

Southern Connecticut would battle back in the second quarter off the shot of Kellner who scored seven points in the period. The Owls held the Ravens to a mere 15.4% shooting from the field while forcing eight Franklin Pierce turnovers to close the gap to 27-25 before Everidge beat the buzzer with a triple on the right-wing fed by Demi Akins (Cambridge, Mass.) to give the Ravens a 30-25 lead at the intermission.

The third quarter would feature a great deal of scoring as the teams combined to tally 48 points in the frame. The Owls hit 7-of-13 (53.8%) three-point attempts including a trifecta from Wheeler who scored 10 points in the quarter. However, the Ravens offensive attack was too much for Southern Connecticut to handle as Holmes scored eight points and Lipinski added seven more for the Ravens who shot 78.6% from the field in the third.

A pair of Kellner free throws to open the fourth quarter cut the deficit to seven but the Owls would get no closer as FPU scored 23 of the final 30 points to bury Southern Connecticut. The Ravens defense suffocated the Owls in the final stanza allowing the visitors to make just 2-of-15 (13.3%) shots from the field.

The Ravens will look to win their third straight game when they host no. 20 nationally-ranked Adelphi University (17-2, 8-2 NE10) on Saturday at The Fieldhouse with opening tip set for noon.  

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/).