Five Ravens score in double-figures as the team shoots 58 percent from the field

RINDGE, N.H. (January 14, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team shot 58 percent from the field (36-of-62) and cruised past Adelphi, 95-55, for its third-straight win on Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 11-4 overall and 8-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Panthers dipped to 6-9 and 4-7 in league play.

Ten of the 11 Ravens that played in the game scored, including five who topped double-figures. Senior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and went 5-of-5 from the free throw line while tossing in a game-high 21 points.

Sophomore guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) continued her hot offensive play as she came off the bench to go 5-of-6 from behind the arc and score 17 points. Over her past three games, she has made at least four three-point attempts and is averaging 17.0 points.

Senior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) narrowly missed her third-consecutive double-double as she dropped in 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Sophomore center Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) notched double-figures for the first time this season by netting a career-high 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down six rebounds, while also handing out two assists. Junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) added 10 points with five assists and three rebounds.

Sophomore guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) may have only scored two points, but she had a terrific all-around game with seven assists, four rebounds and a steal. Junior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) matched McDonald for game-high honors in assists, while also scoring seven points and blocking a pair of shots.

Franklin Pierce was dominant offensively as the Ravens shot 56 percent (20-of-36) in the first half and then upped it to 62 percent (16-of-26) in the second half. They also connected on 9-of-20 attempts from three-point range for a 45 percent clip.

Franklin Pierce also controlled the boards by outrebounding Adelphi 41-23. The five Ravens starters nearly combined to outrebound the entire Panthers squad as they totaled 22.

Kelly Mannix and Jessica Kitrys each pumped in 10 points to pace the Adelphi offensive attack, as the Panthers shot a respectable 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor.

Despite the lopsided final margin, the early stages of the game proved to be tense as the lead changed hands six times and the score was all knotted at 16-16 with 13:08 remaining after Mannix knocked down a triple from the left wing.

Franklin Pierce, though, began to rally and reeled off the next nine points to open up a 25-16 lead with 10:46 to go until halftime. Martelle highlighted the run with a deep trey, while Giroud and White capped it with back-to-back baskets.

The Ravens went on a 7-0 spurt minutes later to push their lead out to double-digits for the first time at 34-22, thanks in large part to another three from Martelle.

Giroud, Saab and Hurd each laid in two baskets in the closing minutes of the half to help give the Ravens a comfortable 51-34 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Saab led all scorers with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Ravens kept up their offensive intensity in the second half and scored the opening seven points to build a 58-34 lead just 90 seconds into the stanza. White scored five of those points, while Giroud added another layup.

Franklin Pierce pushed its lead out to 31 at 78-47 at the 9:38 mark following a baseline jumper from Johnson. The Ravens led by as many as 43 points at 93-50 with 4:08 to go as senior guard Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) nailed a three-pointer.

Saturday's game marked a homecoming of sorts for second-year Adelphi head coach Heather Jacobs, who played at Franklin Pierce from 2002-06. Jacobs had an outstanding career for the Ravens, including being named the MVP of the 2006 ECAC Division II Championship after pumping in 13 points to lead Franklin Pierce to a 61-60 victory over top-seeded Philadelphia University in the finals. It marked the program's first post-season tournament championship since 1992.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday when the Ravens play host to Assumption 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).