Junior All-American Johannah Leedham had 13 points, five rebounds
and six assists for the Ravens today.
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Falcons snap Ravens ten-game winning streak with strong
defense
Boxscore
RINDGE, N.H. (February 7,
2009) - Franklin Pierce University,
ranked 24th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division
II poll and second in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings,
saw its ten game winning streak come to an end with a 70-53 setback
to Bentley University, ranked sixth in the region, in Northeast-10
Conference women's basketball action at the Fieldhouse this
afternoon.
Senior Kristy McLean
(Staten Island, N.Y./Poly Prep) and sophomore Kim
Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) each netted a
game-high 16 points to lead Bentley. McLean made 6-of-11 shots from
the field and converted 3-of-4 free-throws to go with six rebounds,
three assists and two steals, while Brennan dished six assists.
Junior Kelly Barrett (Middle Village, N.Y./Christ the
King) added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field,
connecting on her lone three-point attempt, while junior
Colette Josey (Boston, Mass./Framingham) grabbed a
team-high seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
Junior All-American and Great
Britain international Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port,
England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)), the reigning State
Farm/WBCA Division II Player of the Year was limited to 13 points,
but dished six assists to go with five rebounds. Sophomore
Tori Ahrens (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich)
also netted 13 points to go with a team-best seven rebounds (five
offensive). Classmate Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry,
R.I./LaSalle Academy) chipped in ten points, six rebounds
and two assists.
Bentley made 55.6-percent
(30-for-54) of its shots from the field, including 59.3% (16-27) in
the first half. Franklin Pierce was held to 31-percent (18-for-58)
shooting from the field, including just 4-for-20 (20%) from
three-point range.
Sophomore Tori Ahrens added 13 points and seven rebounds.
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Bentley took immediate control of
the contest, scoring the game's first six points and opening a 13-2
lead five minutes into the contest after a lay-up from McLean. In
fact, McLean (six points) and Brennan (five) combined for 11 of the
Falcons points during the opening stretch. Franklin Pierce closed
within seven (15-7) after two free-throws from Leedham with 13:09
left in the half, but Bentley rolled off an 8-2 run over the next
six minutes to open its lead to 15 points (25-10) after a Josey
lay-up with 7:30 left.
Franklin Pierce again closed the
gap, trimming the lead to six (27-21) with an 11-2 run, capped by a
three-pointer from senior Vanessa Power (Mildura,
Australia) 3:25 before the break. A Barrett three and
jumper by Shatasia Kearse (Framingham,
Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) regained a double-digit lead
(37-26) for Bentley at the break.
Bentley wouldn't let its lead dip
inside double-figures in the second half as senior Angela
Manfredi (Burton, Ohio/Berkshire) opened the frame with a
three and the Falcons kept Franklin Pierce at arms length the rest
of the way. The Falcons lead grew to as much as 21 (68-47) after a
Josey lay-up with 1:57 left.
Franklin Pierce maintained its lead
atop the NE-10 standings as Stonehill College dropped a 61-58
decision to Southern New Hampshire University. American
International College was also defeated, 51-44, by Assumption
College as the top three teams in the Conference all lost. The top
five are now just separated by two games in the loss column.
Franklin Pierce (16-5, 13-4 NE-10)
is back in action on Tuesday when it opens a four-game road trip at
Merrimack College at 5:30 p.m. The Ravens return home for their
regular season finale against American International on Saturday,
February 21, at 1:30 p.m. Bentley (15-9, 11-6 NE-10) hosts Southern
New Hampshire on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
