Brooke Coderre had 12 points including five straight in a
crucial stretch in the second half
RINDGE, N.H. (February 8, 2014) – Sophomore forward
Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) pumped in a
game-high 23 points, and the Franklin Pierce University
women's basketball team shook off a slow start to rally from
19 points down for an important 73-66 win over Assumption on
Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.
The Ravens won their second
straight and ninth in the last 11 to improve to 13-8 overall and
10-6 in the Northeast-10. More importantly, Franklin Pierce moved
two full games ahead of Assumption (12-9, 8-8 NE-10) for third
place in the Northeast Division, which would bring with it a
first-round bye in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference
Championship later this month. Just five games remain in the
regular season, as the Ravens definitely gave themselves a cushion
for the potential first-round bye with Saturday's
triumph.
Charette scored 11 of her points in
the second half, including five straight over a 60-second span to
give Franklin Pierce its first lead of the game at 59-58 with 6:09
remaining. Her three-point play on a layup and free throw put the
Ravens on top.
Jamie Insel notched a three-point
play of her own at the other end of the court for Assumption, but
Charette answered moments later with a layup to tie it.
Senior guard Brooke Coderre
(Woonsocket, R.I.) reeled off five-consecutive points of
her own moments later to put Franklin Pierce up 66-64, but Tafanie
Roye countered with a layup to knot the score once again at
66-all.;
Franklin Pierce, again, had an
answer and sophomore guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge,
Mass.) rained in a crucial three ball with 90 seconds left
to make it 69-66.
Assumption couldn't find an
answer for Gardner's triple, and junior forward
Jessica Hurd (Cambridge, Mass.) hit four-straight
free throws in the final minute to seal the come-from-behind
win.
Senior guard Brittany
Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) added 15 points for the
Ravens, while Coderre threw in 12. Hurd's four free throws
were her only points of the contest, but she did come up huge on
the boards with 11 rebounds to help give Franklin Pierce a 48-36
advantage on the glass.
Insel had a team-high 16 points for
the Greyhounds, while Roye followed with 14 and Shannon Ray chipped
in 12.
Ray converted a pair of free throws
and Insel dropped in a layup to stake Assumption to an 18-4 lead a
little more than six minutes into the game.
Charette then got going with
four-straight points and scored all 12 of her points in the first
half after the Greyhounds got out front by the 14-point margin.
While Charette and the Ravens started heating up, Assumption
didn't fold and eventually took a 31-12 advantage with 7:05
left until halftime following a Caitlin Ackerman layup.
Franklin Pierce, though, finally
kicked into full stride after that and scored 19 of the ensuing 24
points to pull within five at 36-31 with 1:34 left. Five different
Ravens scored during the run, and Charette had two free throws to
make it just a five-point game. Alison Palma (Stamford,
Conn.), who had eight points off the bench for Franklin
Pierce, converted a pair of free throws during the rally, while
Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) and Natalie
Bastian (Branford, Conn.) each chipped in three
points.
Assumption eventually took a 39-33
lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Ravens return to action Tuesday
night when they play host to Southern New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m. in
The Fieldhouse.
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(.)
