COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 15, 2020) – Franklin Pierce University women's basketball sophomore forward Izzy Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) double-doubled for the second straight game with a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds helping the crimson and grey to a 64-62 victory against Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saint Michael's College Saturday afternoon at the Ross Sports Center.

With the win, the 10th of the year for Pierce moves them to 10-13 overall and 4-12 NE10. It also gives them double-digit wins for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. The loss sends the host Purple Knights to 8-14, 2-14 NE10.

Lipinski scored 16 of her 26 markers in the second half. She was 10-of-18 (55.6%) shooting and half of her 10 boards (5) were on the offensive end en route to her eighth double-double of the season and 14th of her collegiate career.

Classmate Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) filled the box score with five points, nine rebounds, and a contest best eight assists. Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt.) tacked on nine points and four boards while Demi Akins (Cambridge, Mass.) had nine points of her own. Sammi Gallant (Ipswich, Mass.) played her most minutes off the bench this year and scored eight points with two triples.

For Saint Michael's Nicole Anderson matched Lipinski with 26 points. She caught fire in the fourth quarter going 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the hardwood, 4-for-5 (80%) from beyond the arc for 16 points keeping her squad in the game.

As a team, the Ravens dominated the post scoring 26 points compared to the Purple Knight's 16. They also outrebounded their counterparts by five caroms.

Carter drove underneath the hoop for the Ravens' first points of the game. Lipinski then buried a jumper to give Pierce their first lead at 4-2. Anika Kapral put the hosts in front by two, 7-5 then on the next trip down the court, Lipinski found Sulejmani for the long-range connection putting FPU back in the lead 8-7. The teams traded points until a Sulejmani lay-in with 1:48 left opened up a three-point, 14-11 margin for the Ravens. Anderson promptly knocked down a mid-range jumper to drop the deficit to one, 14-13 at the end of the first.

Pierce defense held SMC to only four points over the opening six minutes of the second half, part of a 12-4 binge to increase their margin to 26-17 using trifectas off the shot of Hannah Everidge (Baldwinville, Mass.) and Akins from the right-wing. The run expanded to 14-4 via a Gallant steal and fast-break layup for the first double-digit lead of the game, 28-17.

An Anderson triple at the top of the point coupled with an Emma MacDonough and1 cut the score to two possessions, 28-23. Gallant sank a deep three on the left wing just before halftime and Saint Michael's hit two free throws to make it a 31-25 contest at the break.  

The Ravens began the second stanza on a 13-4 run to expand their edge to a game-high 15 points, 44-29 at the 4:34 mark. Lipinski tallied six consecutive to start the binge with two layups coming on the low block and a fast-break drive off a Sulejmani pass to reestablish a 10 point lead. A few possessions passed and Lipinski was doubled in the post, she immediately found Gallant in the corner for three and Akins drained two at the stripe to conclude the run.

A 12-2 SMC spurt dropped their deficit to five off the shot of an Anderson three. With two seconds left in the third, the Ravens perfectly executed an inbounds play from the baseline which resulted in Lipinski rolling home a deuce upping the margin to 48-41. Anderson jump-started the fourth with a trey to once again cut the deficit to two possessions, 48-44. Five straight by the Ravens grew the score back to nine. It was short-lived as the Purple Knight long-range attack put them ahead 55-53 when Anderson drilled a long-range shot from the top of the key, part of 11 consecutive points.

Pierce countered when Sulejmani dished the rock to Carter in the left corner for the bomb. The teams swapped points back and forth and an Anderson jumper at the 2:47 mark catapulted SMC back into the lead 59-58. Pierce then went to the line six times and Akins and Lipinski put in two freebies each. With 38 seconds left the Purple Knights committed an illegal screen giving the ball and possession back to the Ravens. Lipinski iced the game with a post-drive and Anderson sank another three, but only with two-tenths of a second on the clock.

The Ravens wrap up their home schedule next Wednesday, February 19th when they host Saint Anselm College (16-6, 12-4 NE10) at 5:30 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/).