RINDGE, N.H. (February 4, 2020) – Three Franklin Pierce University women's basketball players scored in double figures but it wasn't enough to unseat Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern New Hampshire University 74-68 on Tuesday evening at The Fieldhouse in a duel that came down to the wire. With the win, the visiting Penmen improve to 13-9, 6-8 NE10 while the crimson and grey drop to 9-12 and suffer their 11th conference defeat.

The Ravens shot a higher percentage from the floor (44.6%-to-40.3%) however the Penmen converted almost double the Pierce three-pointers in far more attempts (13-of-32-to-7-of-19). Junior guard Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) produced a team-high 15 points, all from deep going 5-of-11 (45.5%) shooting treys. Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt.) was efficient from the hardwood knocking down shots at a 62.5% (5-of-8) clip. Izzy Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) had 13 points, seven rebounds – four offensive and three assists.

Rylee Skinner (Leominster, Mass.) chipped in nine points and five boards while Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) racked up eight markers, a game-high eight assists, and five rebounds.

SNHU guard Molly Terry was a force from beyond the arc connecting on 7-of-12 (58.3%) of her attempts for a game-high 25 points. She also came away with four steals.

Skinner put Pierce on the board a 1:58 into the game converting a baseline drive. The Ravens then tied the game at 6-6 when Lipinski was doubled in the post and found Carter open on the right block for the easy bank layup. Two Penmen threes put them ahead by four 12-8, which was part of a quarter closing 12-4 run to lead by eight, 18-10 when Karlee Ziliak drained a trifecta at the 21-second mark.

FPU dropped their deficit to two, 21-19 via a Holmes three, two Lipinski free throws, a Skinner bucket and a Carter post connection with under 7:54 left in the half. The guests built their advantage up to 10 and a first-half high of 13 off a three-point shot by Terry with 1:06 remaining. Holmes drained the last three of the quarter to trail 38-28 at the intermission.

Southern New Hampshire outscored the Ravens 8-2 to start the second half growing their lead to a high of 16 after one Jenna Roche free throw. A 12-4 Raven spurt with a Lipinski and1, a Holmes catch and shoot triple and a Carter second chance layup skimmed the margin to eight, 50-42 with 3:15 left in the third. The Penmen edge stayed at 10, 56-46 off two Skinner freebies.

Pierce gained early ground until a Ziliak jumper in the paint opened up a 63-48 score in the fourth quarter. The hosts trimmed the margin down to two possessions, 69-65 with 45 seconds to go. Paris Wilkey (Lynn, Mass.) sank a wide-open three-ball in the left corner to bring it to an eight-point game 66-58. Adriana Timberlake and Skinner swapped threes with Skinner's coming from the right corner bringing it back to an eight-point game. Sulejmani and Lipinski ended the mini-binge with deuces.

The Ravens then started to foul and Ziliak went to the stripe and split her free throws. This set up Holmes to come around two picks and fire a deep shot on the left-wing for the swish pulling Pierce within two, 70-68 with 16 seconds left. They fouled again and Terry knocked down both free chances setting up Holmes for another triple from the same spot. She missed the shot with five seconds left as SNHU wrapped up the win.

Franklin Pierce returns to the court in eight days when they welcome Stonehill College to The Fieldhouse for a 5:30 p.m. contest on Wednesday, February 12th.

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/).