PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (November 8, 2013) – Sophomore
forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) narrowly
missed a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds, but it
wasn't enough as the Franklin Pierce University women's
basketball team opened its 2013-14 campaign Friday night with a
tough 80-71 setback to Goldey-Beacom at Morgan Arena in the
USciences Mixer in Philadelphia, Pa. The Ravens fell to 0-1, while
Goldey-Beacom improved to 1-0.
Charette's 24 points were a
game-high, as it came on 8-of-14 shooting. She led three Ravens to
score in double-figures, also including senior guard
Brittany Martelle's (Brookfield, Conn.) 14
points and classmate Brooke Coderre's (Woonsocket,
R.I.) 13.
Franklin Pierce shot a respectable
45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57), but Goldey-Beacom was
better at a 52.8 percent clip (28-of-53), and was led by four
double-digit scorers including Chelsea Grover's team-high 21
points. Lillian Chukwueze followed with 18 points.
Goldey-Beacom came racing out of
the gates early in the second half knocking down each of its first
three shots to extend its advantage to 50-40. Grover drained a
jumper during the surge, while Taylor Leonard knocked down a triple
to cap it. Leonard would finish the game with 14 points
herself.
Charette stemmed the tide briefly
with a layup, but Goldey-Beacom countered with five-consecutive
points to go up 13, as the run was aided once again by a Leonard
triple.
Goldey-Beacom kept the offensive
output going and minutes later pushed its lead out to 16 at 61-45
with 13:00 remaining following back-to-back jumpers from Dakia
Manning and a pair of free throws from Chukwueze.
The Ravens could never mount a
threatening rally the rest of the way, as Goldey-Beacom kept its
lead between 9-to-12 points the rest of the way in taking the
opener.
Goldey-Beacom held a slim 34-30
rebounding advantage for the contest.
The opening 14 minutes of the game
were back and forth with eight ties and four lead changes. A jumper
from Coderre knotted things up at 30-all, but Goldey-Beacom
responded with 11-straight points, keyed by four points from Grover
and capped with a Manning three-ball, to go up 41-30 with 2:47 left
until halftime.
Franklin Pierce didn't panic
and closed out the first half in fine fashion pulling within five
at 43-38, and thinking that the second half could bear some similar
results as the closing rally. Charette sparked the half's
final rally with five points.
The Ravens return to action
Saturday when they close out play in the Mixer by taking on
host-school USciences at 3 p.m.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page
at http://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 online store
at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
