Top-seeded Ravens advance to Monday's regional final to defend crown
Jo. Leedham leads balanced Ravens effort with 20 points

Boxscore 

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 14, 2009) -  Top-seeded Franklin Pierce University, ranked 14^th in this week's USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II poll, held fifth-seeded American International College to less than 32-percent shooting to claim a 65-46 victory in second 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 (26-5) advances to Monday's East Region championship where it will defend its regional crown against third-seeded Stonehill College (22-8) here at Campus Center Gym at 7 p.m. Stonehill advanced with a 72-61 victory over second-seeded and host Holy Family (26-6) in tonight's second game. American International sees its season to a close at 21-13 overall, including a 14-8 mark in the Northeast-10.

"Everyone is focused and ready, but they are also relaxed, loose and having fun too," said junior All-American and Great Britain international Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)). "I think the main thing is that we have a great experience, but when basketball is fun, the team plays great and that is what is happening right now."

Leedham led a balanced Franklin Pierce scoring effort which featured four players in double-figures with a game-high 20 points (13 first half) on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, converting 7-of-8 free-throws, to go with a game-high matching seven rebounds, five assists (no turnovers), four blocked shots and three steals.

Senior Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine/Maranacook) added 13 points (11 second half) on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, converting all five free-throw attempts. Seniors Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) and Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) each netted ten points for the Ravens. Leedham added seven assists and five rebounds, while Power made 4-of-7 shots from the field (3-3 in the first half).

"All the seniors are playing great," said Johannah Leedham. "Some of it is stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet and everyone is working hard, playing like it's their last game. We're not just playing for our team goals, but playing for our seniors too."

Franklin Pierce limited American International's All-Conference duo of junior Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) and sophomore Laechia Conley (Urbandale, Iowa/Hoover) to just a combined 17 points and 8-for-24 shooting. Boisvert posted 11 points and seven rebounds, while Conley finished with six points (3-for-12 FG) and six rebounds.

"We really came out and executed a defensive game plan as well as we have all season," said head coach Mark Swasey, the Russell Athletic/WBCA East Region Coach of the Year. "We got off to a good start and then really kept the pressure on (AIC) for the entire game. Our ability to rest players yesterday really helped as they looked a bit tired from a tough game in their first round and we were able to take advantage of that with some fresh legs."

Freshman Michelle DeRoma (Boston, Mass./Mount Alvernia) led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench, while classmate Rhea Pascal (Pickering, Ontario/Notre Dame) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. 

Franklin Pierce committed a season-low seven turnovers and posted a 29-7 advantage in points off turnovers, with AIC turning the ball over 15 times. Franklin Pierce finished shooting 44.2-percent (23-for-52) from the field after hitting 48.3% (14-29) in the first half to open a 14-point lead (32-18) at the break. The Ravens also converted 14-of-17 (82.4%) free-throws. American International was held to 31.7% (20-63) shooting from the field, including 9-for-31 (29%) in the first half.

"We needed to come out and be the aggressor, come out swinging and set the tone and we did that," said Johannah Leedham. "It's the best team defense we have played all year and was a great time for that and it really set the tone and it carried over to the offense."

Franklin Pierce never trailed, scoring the first eight points of the contest after just 1:37 off baskets from four different players. AIC closed within two (8-6) over the next three minutes and were within four (12-8) after a Boisvert jumper with 12-minutes on the clock. Franklin Pierce then reeled off a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to gain a 14-point lead (24-10) after Johannah Leedham converted a conventional three-point play with 6:02 left. She scored the last seven points of that stretch, while Power sparked it with a three-pointer.

Franklin Pierce carried a 14-point (32-18) lead into halftime, then quickly pushed the lead to 19 (37-18) after another three-point play from Leedham less than two minutes into the second half. AIC got back within 13 (39-26) with a three from sophomore Kristen Boesenberg (Pocono Pines, Fla./Pocono Mountain West) with 15 minutes left, when the Ravens clamped down the defense again and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for nearly eight minutes and fired off a 14-0 game deciding run with Martin converting a three-point play to push the lead to 27 (53-26) with 7:41 remaining. Jennifer Leedham buried back-to-back three's during that stretch as well.

Franklin Pierce's lead peaked at 29 on two occasions in the final minutes, before American International got it back under 20 with the final basket of the game, a three by DeRoma, with 20-seconds on the clock.