Leedham sisters combine for 45 points as Ravens post 69-54 victory at Assumption

Boxscore 

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 18, 2009) -  Franklin Pierce University, ranked 25^th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll and first in the East Region rankings, clinched its first Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball regular season title with a 69-54 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball action at Laska Gymnasium tonight.

The victory, coupled with Pace University's 75-71 triumph at Stonehill College, clinched Franklin Pierce's first conference championship since joining the Northeast-10 prior to the 2000-2001 season. The Ravens last conference title came with their second-straight New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular season crown in 1998-99. The Ravens, who will host an NE-10 Quarterfinal on Tuesday, March 3, hold home court advantage throughout the upcoming NE-10 Tournament.

Franklin Pierce was led by the sister combination of senior Jennifer and junior All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) who combined for 45 points on 15-for-31 shooting from the field as the Ravens posted their fourth-straight win and 14^th over their last 15 contests. Jennifer drained 7-of-10 three-pointers (one shy of the school record of eight held by Johannah) for 21 points to go with four assists and three steals. Johannah, the reigning State Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year, led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 8-of-18 from the field while converting 8-of-10 free-throw attempts to go with five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a blocked shot.

Franklin Pierce also got a double-double performance (2^nd of the season, 3^rd career) from sophomore Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) with a career-best 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field while converting 5-of-6 free-throws to go with a game-high ten rebounds (four offensive), two assists and a blocked shot.

Three different players led Assumption with ten points on the night. Freshman Kelly Meredith (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) came off the bench to make 4-of-8 shots from the field and converted both free-throw attempts for her ten points to go with six rebounds. Junior Kayla Parker (Sanford, Maine/Sanford) made 4-of-6 shots from the floor and converted 2-of-3 free-throws, for ten points while adding two steals. Classmate Leslie Lupien (Pomfret Center, Conn./Woodstock Academy) finished 5-for-9 from the field for ten points to go with three rebounds (all offensive). 

Franklin Pierce finished shooting 42.9-percent (24-for-56) from the field after hitting at 48.1% (13-27) in the second half. The Ravens outscored Assumption 13-4 at the free-throw line, converting 81.3% (13-16) of their attempts, compared to 4-for-6 (66.7%) for the hosts. The Greyhounds made 42.6-percent (23-for-54) of their shots from the field, but just 37.9% (11-29) in the second half.

Franklin Pierce came out blazing, running to a 16-4 lead 4:08 into the contest after a 13-0 run. Jennifer Leedham drained three three-pointers during the stretch, while Johannah chipped in six points. Assumption responded by posting a 16-4 run of its own to knot the score at 20-20 after a three-pointer by sophomore Theresa Amelio (Bronx, N.Y./Preston) with 7:56 left in the half. Parker and Lupien each chipped in conventional three-point plays during that stretch as well. The Greyhounds were unable to forge ahead and Franklin Pierce used a 10-4 run over the next five minutes to regain a six-point edge (30-24), sparked by two Jennifer Leedham three's, a margin the visitors carried into the lockerroom (32-26).

Jennifer Leedham opened the second half with a three-pointer and Franklin Pierce regained a double-digit lead (38-28) after two Johannah Leedham free-throws 3:10 into the second half. A layup from sophomore Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) pushed the Ravens lead to a then game-high 13 points (50-37) with 11:55 remaining.

Assumption closed within five points (52-47) after three-ball by senior Trish Gardner (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) with 5:41 left to cap a 10-2 spurt over a six-minute span. Franklin Pierce answered with a 10-2 run of its own with their entire point total coming from Ahrens to regain its 13-point margin (62-49) with 3:16 to go. Lupien scored a jumper to pull the Greyhounds within 11 (65-54) with 2:26 remaining, when Johannah Leedham iced the win with back-to-back layups, the second coming off her own steal with 1:25 left to close out the scoring.   

Franklin Pierce (20-5, 17-4 NE-10), which reached the 20-win plateau for the second-straight year, is back in action on Saturday when it hosts American International College, ranked fifth in the region, at 1:30 p.m. The Ravens regular season finale will also be its WBCA Pink Zone event with fans encouraged to wear pink with several giveaways and raffles planned for the afternoon and all proceeds being donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund for breast cancer awareness and research. Assumption (15-10, 13-7 NE-10) travels to Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.