Marielle Giroud tosses in 25 points, while Jewel White adds 20; Tiffany Johnson nets 10 points

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (November 16, 2011) -- The 22nd nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team opened up its 2011-12 season with an important 77-63 road win over Merrimack on Wednesday night in North Andover, Mass. The Ravens improved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast-10, while the Warriors dipped to 0-2 and 0-1 in league play.

Three Raven starters scored in double-figures, led by senior forward Marielle Giroud's (Martigny, Switzerland) game-high 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. The reigning NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year swiped six steals, while pulling down five rebounds and handing out three assists.

Classmate and reigning NE-10 Player of the Year, Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.), followed with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds and one assist. Junior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) shot a solid 5-of-7 from the field and dropped in 10 points with five rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Merrimack also had three players score in double-figures, including 19 points from Gennifer Roy, 17 from Kelly Schatzlein and 14 from Allison Wagner.

The lead changed hands four times in the opening eight minutes before Franklin Pierce used a 15-2 run over a seven-minute span to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 29-18 advantage.

Sophomore center Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England), who had seven points in the contest, started the rally with a free throw as six different Ravens scored during the surge. Giroud had five points during the surge, including a three-pointer, while White capped it with a layup.

Giroud knocked down another triple late in the frame to help give the Ravens a 39-29 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Giroud had 11 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Ravens shot 50 percent (14-of-28) from the floor. 

Franklin Pierce never let Merrimack threaten in the second half as the Warriors were only able to cut their deficit down to nine points on two occasions. Other than those two instances, Franklin Pierce led by double-digits the rest of the way, including by as many as 16 points. Giroud had 14 points in the second half, while White tossed in 12.

Senior guard Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) chipped in with seven points for the Ravens, while junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) and sophomore guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench to add five and three points, respectively.

Franklin Pierce returns to action next Tuesday when the Ravens play host to Stonehill in the home opener at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).