COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 9, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce
University women's basketball team could not sustain a strong start
on Saturday and fell apart in the second half as Saint Michael's
rallied for a 73-59 win over the Ravens at the Ross Sports Center
in Colchester, Vt. The Ravens dipped to 14-7 overall and 11-6 in
the Northeast-10, while the Purple Knights improved to 9-12 and
7-10 in league play.
Three Ravens scored in
double-figures, including a team-high 12 points from Kara
Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.).
However, Franklin Pierce could not
overcome a 48 percent shooting performance from St. Mike's,
including a 53 percent clip from three-point range (9-of-17). Megan
Olsen pumped in a game-high 19 points for the Purple Knights, while
just missing a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Theresa Carey followed with 14 points, while Nicole Adach added 13
points and six boards. Makenzie Burud rounded out the double-digit
Purple Knight scorers with 10 points.
Franklin Pierce held an 11-point
lead at several different stages of the first half, including at
34-23 with 3:50 left when junior guard Brittany Martelle
(Brookfield, Conn.) laid in a basket. It was part of
Martelle's 11 points off the bench for the Ravens.
The Ravens, though, couldn't put
away the Purple Knights as they scored nine of the half's final 11
points to pull within four at 36-32 at halftime. Olsen sparked St.
Mike's closing surge with five-consecutive points on a three-point
play and layup.
Saint Michael's used that closing
run to springboard itself into the second half. The Purple Knights
ran off a string of 10-straight points during a three-minute span,
kick-started by an Olsen basket and aided by back-to-back threes
from Megan Gaudreau, to go from a six-point deficit to a 48-44 lead
with 12:02 remaining.
Senior guard Tiffany
Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.), who logged 10 points and eight
rebounds in the game, stemmed the tide momentarily for Franklin
Pierce with a three-point play on a layup and free throw, but it
did nothing to trip up St. Mike's as it was just beginning to make
another run to put the game out of reach.
Burud sparked an 8-0 run with a
trey and Olsen capped it moments later with another three-ball to
push the Purple Knights lead out to 56-47. Adach dropped in a layup
a couple of minutes after that to lift St. Mike's to its first
double-digit lead of the game at 61-50.
Franklin Pierce never got closer
than eight points over the final five minutes as Saint Michael's
cruised in for the victory.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Wednesday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to take on Southern
New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for
Tuesday, but was moved back a day due to the winter storm that was
creating havoc in the New England region during the weekend.
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 online store at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
