Jewel White logs double-double with team-high 15 points and 14 rebounds

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (January 21, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team could not hold onto a double-digit second-half lead in dropping a 62-57 decision to Pace on Saturday at the Goldstein Fit Center in Pleasantville, N.Y. The Ravens dropped their second-straight game in falling to 11-6 overall and 8-5 in the Northeast-10, while the Setters improved to 14-3 and 11-2 in league play.

The senior duo of Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) and Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) collected a pair of double-doubles to help spark the Ravens attack. White tossed in 15 points and collected 14 rebounds, while Giroud had 11 points and 10 boards. Junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) was Franklin Pierce's other double-figure scorer with 14 points.

Kerri White and Carol Johnson paced the Setters offensive attack with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Margo Hackett came off the bench to pump in 14 points as well.

Franklin Pierce shot a solid 43 percent from the field in the second half and it helped the Ravens build a 50-39 lead with 12:04 left in the game after sophomore guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) drained a three-pointer.

However, it was all Pace after that as the Setters closed out the contest on a 23-7 run to pull off the victory. Pace started the rally with six-straight points, including getting back-to-back baskets from Maral Javadifar, to pull within five at 50-45.

White stemmed the tide at the other end of the court with a layup, but Pace continued to chip away at the deficit and eventually pulled even at 55-55 with 3:55 left when Hackett knocked down a deep triple.

Saab answered at the other end with a layup to stake the Ravens to a slim 57-55 lead. But Pace rallied and scored the final seven points of the game to claim the five-point margin of victory. Johnson followed Saab's layup with a pair of her own, including the eventual winning basket with :45 remaining.

The start of the game was delayed 90 minutes due to inclement weather which hindered the mid-Atlantic region on Saturday.

Pace shot a respectable 40 percent from the floor for the game (23-of-57), while limiting the Ravens to just 38 percent shooting (22-of-58). The Setters also forced Franklin Pierce into 20 turnovers, which hinderd the Ravens shot at a comeback in the final seconds of the game.

The opening stages of the game saw one tie and three lead changes, but Pace finally settled and took a 17-13 lead at the 11:13 mark of the first half after Brittany Shields laid in a basket. The Setters never lost their lead over the remaining minutes of the first half and led by as many as eight before taking a 32-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Franklin Pierce, though, came out on fire in the second half and used a 12-0 run in the early going to take a 43-35 advantage with 15:04 remaining. Saab aided the run with six points, while Giroud chipped in with four. Franklin Pierce continued to hold onto its lead and built the double-digit advantage before Pace pulled off its winning rally in the closing minutes.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to Springfield, Mass. to face American International at 5:30 p.m.

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).