Leedham sisters lead Ravens who rally late for eighth-straight win

Boxscore 

LOWELL, Mass. (January 24, 2009) -  Franklin Pierce University, among other teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, overcame a five-point deficit with six minutes to play to claim a 62-58 victory over the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Costello Athletic Center this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce's sister combination of Jennifer and Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) led the Ravens to their eighth-straight win (and 10^th  of 11) as they combined for 39 of the Ravens 62 points. Junior All-American and Great Britain international Johannah, the reigning State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, led all scorers with 21 points as she made 7-of-10 shots from the field and converted 6-of-7 free-throws to go with four rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot. Jennifer, a senior, added 18 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Sophomore Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) contributed nine points off the bench for the Ravens, while freshman Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Junior Megan Berry (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) was the lone UMass Lowell player in double-figures with 12 points to go with three rebounds and two steals. Junior Jen Valente (Prospect, Conn./Woodland Regional) added nine points, four rebounds and two steals, while classmate Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) chipped in eight points, a team-high six rebounds and five assists.

Franklin Pierce finished shooting 48.9-percent (22-for-45) from the field after a 61.9% (13-21) effort in the second half to erase a four-point halftime deficit. UMass Lowell finished shooting 45.3-percent (24-for-53) from the field, including 6-for-11 (54.5%) from three-point range. The Ravens posted a 14-4 scoring advantage at the free-throw line, converting 14-of-15 (93.3%) attempts, compared to 4-for-7 (57.1%) shooting at the stripe for the River Hawks.

UMass Lowell held a five-point lead (56-51) after a layup by freshman Sha'Nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio/Kenmore) with 5:52 to play, when Franklin Pierce mounted its game-winning rally. Johannah Leedham sparked the rally with a conventional three-point play, before Giroud knotted the score (56-56) for the fifth time with a jumper with 4:52 to play. Gaudet capped the 9-0 run with a jumper with 3:34 to play to put the Ravens up four (60-56).

Valentine scored a layup to pull UMass Lowell back within a basket (60-58) with 1:32 remaining, but the River Hawks turned the ball over on their final two possessions and Johannah Leedham iced the win with a steal and layup with two seconds to go.

Franklin Pierce looked to be firing on all cylinders early, taking a ten-point lead (22-12) after a layup from sophomore Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) capped an 8-0 run with 8:53 left in the first half. UMass Lowell answered with a 21-4 run over the next five minutes to open its own seven-point lead (33-26) after a Berry three with 3:04 left in the half. Berry had eight points in all during the run.

UMass Lowell led by six (35-29) after a layup by senior Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) 1:15 into the second half. Franklin Pierce forced the first of four second half ties (41-41) with two free-throws from Gaudet with 14:06 left and the game was back and forth until the River Hawks took its first of three five-point leads (52-47) on a three-pointer from sophomore Tamaria Menefee (Dorchester, Mass./Jeremiah E. Burke) with 8:55 remaining leading up to the Ravens late rally.

Franklin Pierce (14-4, 11-3 NE-10) returns to action on Wednesday when it visits Southern New Hampshire University at 5:30 p.m. The Ravens do not return home until Wednesday, February 4, to host No. 15 Stonehill College for an NE-10 showdown at 5:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (7-11, 4-9 NE-10) hosts rivals Merrimack College on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.