Amanda Saab notches first double-double of her career with 11 points and a career-high 12 assists

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 25, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team snapped its two-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 74-59 triumph over American International at Butova Gymnasium in Springfield, Mass. The Ravens improved to 12-6 overall and 9-5 in the Northeast-10, while the Yellow Jackets dipped to 8-10 and 7-7 in league play.

Senior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds. Her classmate, center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) pumped in a game-high 19 points on a strong 7-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Four Ravens starters scored in double-figures, including the efforts of Giroud and White. Joining those two were senior guard Lekia Cowen (Hopedale, Mass.) and junior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.), who pumped in 15 and 11 points, respectively. Cowen knocked down five three-pointers, while Saab logged her first career double-double as she added a career-best 12 assists to go along with her point total. Junior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) came off the bench to knock down a pair of triples and add nine points.

Franklin Pierce shot a strong 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field, while limiting AIC to just 37 percent shooting (20-of-54). Both teams shot well from behind the arc as the Ravens connected on 40 percent of their tries (8-of-20) and the Yellow Jackets drained 43 percent of theirs (7-of-16).

Alyssa Roach tossed in a team-high 15 points for American International, while Michelle Lafond and Rhea Pascal added 13 points apiece. 

Both sides exchanged the lead several times, including at the 12:49 mark of the second half when Lafond dropped in a trey to give AIC a slim 49-47 lead. 

White netted four-consecutive points on a pair of free throws and a layup to put the Ravens back on top by a count of 51-49. The Ravens continued to hold a narrow lead over the next few possessions, but eventually saw the score knotted at 52-all with 8:50 remaining after Marie Li Sicard converted two foul shots.

The game had seen 10 lead changes and five ties to that point so the remaining minutes appeared to be a back-and-forth affair. Franklin Pierce, however, wasn't about to let that happen and went on a closing surge which sealed the win. Johnson snapped the tie with triples on back-to-back possessions and Giroud converted a three-point on the ensuing trip down the court to give the Ravens a 61-52 advantage with 6:57 left.

Sicard stemmed the tide for AIC with a basket, but Franklin Pierce continued to slowly add to its lead over the next few minutes and went up by double-digits at 65-55 with 3:16 to go following another layup from White.

AIC trimmed it to eight on the next possession with a Pascal jumper, but the Ravens answered with nine-straight points to gain a comfortable 74-57 lead with under 60 seconds remaining to nail down the win. Giroud kick-started the final rally with four-straight points and Cowen capped it with a deep triple.

Giroud had nine points and 14 of her rebounds in the second 20 minutes, while White netted 12 of her game-high point total in the frame.

Cowen buried a three in the early-going of the game to help stake the Ravens to a 10-7 lead. However, AIC used an 8-0 run during the middle stages of the first half to open up a 22-15 lead. Lafond aided the run with four points. The Yellow Jackets continued to cling to their lead throughout the remaining minutes of the first half and took a 33-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

American International continued to hold onto its lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but Franklin Pierce used a 10-0 run to grab a 43-39 edge with 15:47 left. Cowen sparked the run with back-to-back treys and Saab added a layup to aid it. The game would go back and forth until the Ravens went on their final run to grab the triumph.

Franklin Pierce held a 36-26 advantage on the boards for the game, as nine of the 10 Ravens that played had at least one rebound.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens play host to Saint Rose at 1:30 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).