GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (March 2, 2014) – Sophomore
forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) logged a
double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't
enough as the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball
dropped a tough 81-77 decision to Adelphi in a thriller on Sunday
in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference
Championship in Garden City, N.Y.
The Ravens, seeded fourth in the
Northeast Division of this tournament, fell to 16-12, while the
top-seeded Panthers of the Southwest Division improved to 21-6, and
advanced to Thursday's semifinals.
Senior guard Brittany
Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) pumped in 20 points for the
Ravens, while classmate Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket,
R.I.) added 14.
The Ravens shot the ball very well
on the afternoon, connecting on 50 percent of their attempts,
including a blistering 62 percent (8-of-13) from three-point
range.
Adelphi was led in scoring by
Jessica Kitrys, who poured in a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18
shooting. Two Panthers tallied double-doubles, including Calli
Balfour (16 points & 13 rebounds), and Sade Jackson (13 points
& 11 rebounds).
The Ravens, who trailed early in
the second half, used an 11-5 run midway through the frame to build
a 59-52 lead with 9:13 remaining. Four different Ravens scored
during the run, including a three-pointer apiece from Martelle,
Coderre, and freshman guard Dana Campbell (Merrick,
N.Y.). Charette added a layup as well, and the Ravens
seemed to be regaining control of the momentum.
But in a game of wild momentum
swings, Adelphi slowly fought back with five-consecutive points,
including a pair of foul shots from Kitrys, and a three-point play
from Jackson.
The teams traded baskets before
Kelly Mannix bombed in back-to-back triples with 4:16 to go to put
the Panthers up by two at 67-65.
Junior forward Jessica Hurd
(Kegworth, England) and Charette each made shots moments
later to knot the score up each time, but Adelphi began to find an
answer for each Ravens' attempt. Kitrys scored five crucial
points down the stretch, while Balfour added four of her own, and
Adelphi never let the Ravens regain the lead late.
Adelphi's win denied Franklin
Pierce's bid of sweeping the two-game season series from the
Panthers this season. The Ravens had downed the Panthers, 97-88,
back on Jan. 29 in Rindge when the Panthers were in first place in
the SW Division of the league standings.
Adelphi came out firing early in
the game, and scored the first seven points, but Franklin Pierce
regrouped, eventually opening up a pair of 10-point leads.
Coderre's triple with 1:38 left until halftime staked the
Ravens to a 38-28 edge, but Adelphi scored seven of the
stanza's final nine points to pull within 40-35 at
intermission.
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(.)
