Kara Charette tops 20 points for second-straight game

MANCHESTER, N.H. (November 10, 2012) – Freshman forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) dumped in a season-high 22 points (7-of-10 shooting) to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to a 69-54 win over the University of Sciences on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gym in Manchester. The Ravens won their second straight to improve to 2-0, while USciences fell to 0-2.

Charette's 22 point outing came less than 24 hours after she netted 21 points with nine rebounds in her collegiate debut in Friday night's 81-54 win over Nyack. It marked the second-straight game she led Franklin Pierce in scoring.

Senior frontcourt-mate Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) pumped in 19 points, while also pulling down 13 rebounds to log her first double-double of the season. It marked the second time in as many games that she ripped down double-figure boards. Saab also had six assists, three steals and a block in the contest.

Senior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) chipped in 11 points, while also swiping six steals. Freshman guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.), who netted 15 points in her collegiate debut Friday night, followed with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range on Saturday.

Jessica Sylvester paced USciences with 14 points, while Elsebeth Birman and Brianne Traub followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Just as they did Friday night, the Ravens raced out to another huge lead just moments into the contest as they scored 16 of the game's first 18 points five minutes in.  Four different Ravens scored during the run, which was highlighted by three-straight three's from junior guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.), Johnson and junior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.). Charett also added four points during the surge, which was finally capped with a driving layup from Johnson.

Franklin Pierce kept its lead up around double-digits for the remainder of the half and eventually took a 38-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

USciences hit a quick basket to begin the second half and trim its deficit to 38-31, but the Ravens responded by going on a 9-0 run, sparked by a Saab jumper and finished off by seven-straight points from Charette – including a three-point play – to take a commanding 47-31 lead with 15:54 remaining.

Franklin Pierce never let USciences threaten the rest of the way.  Sciences trimmed it to nine at 53-44 midway through the half, but again, the Ravens rallied with seven-consecutive points to open up a 60-44 advantage and put the game out of reach. Garder kick-started the run with a three-pointer and Johnson and Saab followed with back-to-back baskets to seal the win.

The Ravens shot a strong 41 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range, while limiting USciences to just 37 percent shooting from the floor (22-of-59), including a slim 28 percent clip (2-of-7) from beyond the arc. Franklin Pierce also held a 37-34 advantage on the glass.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when the Ravens open their Northeast-10 Conference schedule by playing host to Merrimack at 8 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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's new online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)