Senior guard Jennifer Leedham netted her second-straight 20-point
outing as she led all scorers with 22 points (11 each half) to go
with seven assists, six rebound, two blocks and two steals in
today's win over New Haven.
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Leedham sisters lead Ravens into first place with combined 42
points
Boxscore
RINDGE, N.H. (January 17,
2009) - Franklin Pierce University, among
other teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA
Division II poll, moved into first place in the Northeast-10
Conference women's basketball standings with an 89-63 victory over
the University of New Haven at the Fieldhouse this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (12-4, 9-3 NE-10),
winners of a season-best six-straight and eight of nine, are now
tied with No. 10 Stonehill College (14-3, 9-3 NE-10) after the
Skyhawks dropped a 70-68 decision at The College of Saint Rose this
afternoon. The two teams are now a full game ahead of four other
NE-10 teams, although tied with Pace University (10-4, 7-3 NE-10)
in the loss column.
Franklin Pierce was again led by
the sister combination of senior Jennifer and
junior All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port,
England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) who combined for 42 of
the Ravens season-high matching 89 points. Jennifer led all scorers
with 22 points (11 each half), hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers and
converting all eight free-throws, to go with seven assists, six
rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Johannah, the reigning
State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, added 20 points (12
first half), six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Junior Kirsten Doldoorian
(Brimfield, Mass./Oxford) contributed 11 points on 4-of-5
shooting from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range, to
go with three offensive rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
Senior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook)
chipped in nine second-half points.
Junior All-American and Great Britain international Johannah
Leedham added 20 points (12 first half), six rebounds and two
blocks.
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Senior Lauren Hood
(Ashland, Mass./Ashland) led New Haven with 14 points (11
first half), aided by 6-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, to go
with five rebounds and two assists. Junior Alysia Saunders
(Bronx, N.Y./Aquinas) was the only other Charger in
double-figures with ten points (all second half), making all six
free-throw attempts, and a game-high matching eight rebounds.
Junior Helin Marte (Woodhaven, N.Y./Richmond Hill)
chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and three
steals.
Franklin Pierce, which has now
scored 80-plus points in four-straight games and seven of its last
eight, finished shooting 44.4-percent (28-for-63) from the field,
including 45% (9-of-20) from three-point range, after making 51.6%
(16-31) in the second half. New Haven was held to just 31.1-percent
(19-for-61) shooting from the field, including a mere 25.9% (7-27)
in the second half, and made just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the
arc.
Franklin Pierce carried a six point
lead (41-35) into halftime, but New Haven opened the second half
with six-straight points, four from Saunders to forge the fourth
tie of the game (41-41) with 18:15 remaining. The Ravens responded
with a 17-6 spell over the next five minutes to regain a
double-digit lead (58-47) with 13:45 left. Martin and Jennifer
Leedham sparked the run with three-pointers, while sophomore
Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy)
added a conventional three-point play and Johannah Leedham totaled
six points during that stretch.
Junior Kristen Doldoorian scored five of her 11 points during a key
second-half stretch.
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Two free-throws from sophomore Yasmin Ithier-Vicenty
(Newington, Conn./Newington) got New Haven back within
single-digits (58-49), but Franklin Pierce reeled off a 20-6 run
over the following eight minutes to break the game open (78-55)
after two Jennifer Leedham free-throws with 5:22 to go. Doldoorian
chipped in five points during the deciding stretch, including a
three-pointer.
Franklin Pierce looked to be well
on its way to victory when a Johannah Leedham three-pointer capped
a 14-5 run that put the Ravens up 13 (32-19) with 5:46 left in the
first half. New Haven quickly closed the gap to four (32-28) with a
9-0 spurt in less than two minutes, sparked by five points from
Hood.
Franklin Pierce is back in action
on Tuesday for a key NE-10 match up with Assumption College at the
Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m. The Greyhounds are one of the four teams
that trail the Ravens and Stonehill by a game in the
ever-tightening NE-10 standings. New Haven (10-7, 5-7 NE-10) hosts
the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
