Johannah Leedham notches double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds; Tori Ahrens just misses her own with 12 points and nine rebounds

BOXSCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. (December 29, 2009) - The second-ranked Franklin Pierce women's basketball team returned from its 11-day layoff on Tuesday and took down Dominican, 64-44, in the opening round of the Saint Anselm Holiday Classic in Manchester, N.H. The Ravens improved to 9-0, while Dominican dipped to 6-4.

Senior standout Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) notched her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds - both game highs. She also had four assists three steals and one block. With her point total, Leedham moved into the top-15 all-time in NCAA Division II women's basketball history for career scoring with 2,371 points.

Junior center Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I.) was the other Raven to score in double-figures as she just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Classmate Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) had a strong outing with eight points, five rebounds and two assists.

Franklin Pierce shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field, and did an outstanding job on the defensive end, limiting Dominican to just 24 percent (16-of-66) shooting. The Ravens held a dominating 28-8 advantage in points in the paint.

The Ravens, who never trailed at any point during the contest, opened the game on a 7-0 run keyed by three points from Gaudet.

After a Dominican basket, Franklin Pierce followed with a 9-0 run to open up an 18-3 lead with 10:08 left in the first half. Leedham sparked the surge with a three-point play and Kirsten Doldoorian (Brimfield, Mass.) capped it with four-straight points. Sandwiched between those two was a basket by freshman guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.).

The Ravens led by as many as 20 points in the opening frame in building a 32-14 lead at halftime.  Leedham netted 10 points in the first half, while Gaudet chipped in with five.

Franklin Pierce kept up the offensive intensity in the opening minutes of the second half and a jumper by Ahrens staked the Ravens to a 42-19 advantage with 16:16 to go in the contest.

Dominican tried to claw back into the contest and did pull within 12 at 44-32 with 9:18 left in the game on a layup from Rachel Sainten, who also led the team in scoring with 10 points.

However, Franklin Pierce responded and scored the game's next six points to open up another commanding lead at 50-32 with 7:03 remaining. Leedham, again, kick-started the surge, this time with a pair of free throws. Ahrens added a jumper and freshman guard Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) laid in a basket to cap the run.

Dominican would not threaten the rest of the way as Franklin Pierce cruised to its ninth-straight win to open the 2009-10 season.

The Ravens, who are in the middle of a string of playing three games in five days, returns to action Wednesday when they face Mercy at 5 p.m. in the final round of the Saint Anselm Holiday Classic. Franklin Pierce will return to Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday when the Ravens travel to face Southern New Hampshire at 1:30 p.m. in Manchester.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)