Women's Basketball Nabs Huge Road Win with 75-72 Triumph at Assumption on Wednesday
Coderre goes for career-high 18 points; Giroud logs double-double with 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds
WORCESTER, Mass. (January 19, 2011) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team picked up its third-consecutive victory Wednesday night with a huge 75-72 triumph at Assumption at Laska Gym in Worcester, Mass. The Ravens improved to 13-5 overall and 9-3 in the Northeast-10, while Assumption dipped to 11-5 and 9-3 in league play. The Greyhounds had entered the game in second place in the Northeast-10, while the Ravens were sitting in a tie for fourth.
A pair of Ravens tossed in a game-high 18 points apiece, including freshman guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) and junior center Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.). White also had seven rebounds to go along with her point total, while the 18 points were a new career-high for Coderre.
Junior forward Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) followed with 17 points and ripped down a career-high 18 rebounds. It marked the second-straight game she totaled a new career-high in rebounds as she also pulled down 17 off the glass in Saturday's win at Southern Connecticut.
Sophomore guard Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) came off the bench to chip in with 14 points to help round out a solid Ravens' offensive attack.
Kelly Meredith pumped in a team-high 17 points for the Greyhounds. In a showdown between two of the league's top-three scorers, White got the best of Meredith by a point. Meredith had entered the game leading the league in scoring at 20.6 points per game, while White was tied for second at 18.4 points a night.
Franklin Pierce broke open a slim 38-36 lead at halftime with a nice offensive flurry in the opening four minutes of the second half as the Ravens built a 50-42 lead with the help of six points from Coderre (back-to-back threes) and four points from Giroud. The Ravens continued to hold their lead around that margin for the next several minutes and a Saab triple with 9:20 to go in the game lifted Franklin Pierce to a 60-53 lead.
However, Assumption scored 11 of the game's next 13 points over a four-minute span to grab a slim 64-62 lead with 5:15 remaining. Gibson tied the game at 62 with a steal at midcourt followed by a layup, and Meredith put the Greyhounds on top with a jumper in the paint.
The game settled into a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of regulation. The final 2:55 featured four lead changes. With Assumption leading 70-69 with 1:12 to go, Meredith picked up her fifth foul as she swiped at White's arm as she was taking a jump shot in the paint. White responded by making both free throws to put the Ravens on top 71-70.
Coderre essentially put the game out of reach with :32 left when she took a skip pass on the left wing and calmly drilled a triple to give Franklin Pierce a 74-70 lead. Assumption made a basket late, but could not come up with the game-winning bucket in the closing seconds, thus sealing the win for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce shot 44 percent (24-of-55) from the field and held a 37-35 rebounding advantage.
Assumption scored the game's seven points and eventually built a 22-13 lead with 11:08 left in the first half following a three-pointer from Shannon Ray. But just as the Greyhounds looked to be running away with the game, freshman guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) countered for Franklin Pierce by knocking down back-to-back triples to pull the Ravens to within three at 22-19 with 9:59 to go until halftime.
The game remained close throughout the remaining minutes of the first half. The Ravens cut the deficit to one on multiple occasions late and eventually took the lead in the final 90 seconds of the half when Saab made four-straight free throws to make it 37-34. Franklin Pierce eventually took a 38-36 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Saab and Coderre eached paced Franklin Pierce with nine points in the half, while Giroud chipped in with eight points.
Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday afternoon when the Ravens play host to American International at 1:30 p.m. at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The women's game, along with the men's game versus AIC at 3:30 p.m., is part of Rocky the Raven Kid's Day in The Fieldhouse, as area youth will have the opportunity to take part in fun and games all day. All children will be admitted FREE if accompanied by a paying adult.
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/FranklinPierceAthletics).