Top-seeded Ravens advance to tomorrow's second round behind strong first half
Jo. Leedham leads Ravens with 21 points, including 2,000th of her career

Boxscore 

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 13, 2009) -  Top-seeded Franklin Pierce University, ranked 14^th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, opened defense of its regional title with an 80-62 victory over eighth-seeded Philadelphia University in opening round action of the 2009 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships Tournament East Regional, hosted by Holy Family University, at Campus Center Gymnasium tonight.

Franklin Pierce (25-5) advances to face fifth-seeded American International College (21-12) in tomorrow's second round at 6 p.m. The Yellow Jackets advanced with a 71-59 victory over fourth-seeded Bentley University (21-12) in today's second game. Philadelphia rounds out its season with a 21-10 record overall, including a 14-5 clip in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), having earned its eighth NCAA Tournament bid by winning the CACC Tournament last weekend.

"I thought we came out a little tight, which might be expected," said Franklin Pierce head coach Mark Swasey, the Russell Athletic/WBCA East Region Coach of the Year. "We regrouped after the nine minute mark and then went on a nice run to kind of put them away early. We were able get our bench in there which is what you hope to be able to do." 

Junior All-American and Great Britain international Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 21 points (15 first half), including the 2,000^th of her collegiate career when she made the first of two free-throws with 4:34 left in the opening half. She joins the Ravens all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer Shelia Lindsay (2,564) as the lone players in program history to hit the 2,000-point plateau and Leedham is just the seventh women's basketball player in Northeast-10 Conference history to achieve the scoring milestone. She finished the game with 2,007 career points as she made 7-of-11 shots from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, and converted all five free-throw attempts, adding eight rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes of play.

"I think it's a great accomplishment, but also a tribute to my teammates," said Leedham. "If I have 2,000 points, I don't know how many assists my teammates have. It's such an unselfish team and it makes my job so much easier to be playing with them."

Sophomore Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) continued her good postseason play with 14 points, four rebounds (three offensive) and three assists off the bench. Senior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) added ten points in 15 reserve minutes, while classmate Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) chipped in nine points and four assists. Senior Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) dished nine assists for the Ravens to go with six rebounds.

Junior Jessica Romano (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) led Philadelphia with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, and nine rebounds. Junior Taylor Magnus (Plymouth, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) added 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench for the Rams, while junior Kate Brennan (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) posted 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Franklin Pierce finished shooting 42-percent (29-for-69) from the field on the afternoon, including 42.4% (14-33) in building a 19-point (41-22) halftime lead. The Ravens made 6-of-15 (40%) three-pointers in the first half and finished the game with a 27-12 advantage in points off turnovers and posted a 43-36 rebounding edge. Philadelphia was held to 37.7-percent (20-53) shooting from the field, including 4-for-15 (26.7%) from beyond the arc.

Franklin Pierce overcame a slow start as Philadelphia was up two (13-11) after senior Amanda Brennan (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) drained a three-pointer with 12:13 to play in the first half. After a Power three and layup from Johannah Leedham, Romano pulled the Rams even (16-16) with a conventional three-point play midway through the half.

Franklin Pierce then scored eight-straight points, capped by a Leedham three with 7:50 to play, to open an eight-point bulge (24-16), as part of a greater 20-3 run to gain control of the contest (36-19) 2:36 before the break. The Ravens extended the lead to 19 points (41-22) at halftime and then continued to build on their lead in the second half. Franklin Pierce opened the frame with an 11-3 spurt, capped by a Martin layup 2:20 into the half, to run its lead to a game-high 27 points (52-25).

"We couldn't play them zone because they are such a good shooting team, so we had to play man-to-man," said Philadelphia head coach Tom Shirley. "When we got beat, they kicked it out and made shots. We just hoped for a cold stretch, which never happened."

Philadelphia closed the gap late, drawing within 12 (74-62) after a conventional three-point play from Brennan, but there was just 2:09 remaining and the Rams wouldn't score again the rest of the way.

"I think we are relieved to get the first win under our belt," said Leedham. "We came out a bit nervous, but we got settled down and scored a few points and then went on a run and were able to put it away and get everyone in the game, which was good."