Dyamond Gardner goes for double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds

RINDGE, N.H. (January 12, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team raced out to a huge lead early and never looked back in picking up a 67-41 win over Le Moyne on Saturday afternoon at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens won their fourth straight to improve to 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the Northeast-10, while the Dolphins dipped to 4-9 and 2-7 in league play.

Freshman forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) led a trio of double-figure scorers for the Ravens as she pumped in a game-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while also collecting four rebounds.

Sophomore guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) notched a double-double as she netted 11 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. Junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench to knock down three three-pointers and total 13 points. Classmate Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) flirted with a triple-double as she had eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. It marked the fifth-consecutive game she led the team in helpers.

Tessa Pucello came off the bench to toss in a team-high 14 points for the Dolphins, who managed to shoot just 24 percent from the field and 16 percent (3-of-19) from behind the arc.

The game was all Ravens as they scored the opening nine points and held a 22-3 lead a little more than 10 minutes into the contest. Gardner sparked things with a three to open the game, while senior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) added a pair of layups. 

McDonald bombed in a three and Martelle followed with five-straight points on a triple and layup to give Franklin Pierce the 19-point advantage with 9:29 left until halftime.

A Le Moyne basket failed to trip up the Ravens as they continued to add to their lead and a free throw apiece from Charette and freshman guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) made it 33-5. 

The Dolphins did close out with a 12-1 run the final 4:18 of the half to pull within 34-17 at intermission, but it failed to produce any effect for the second half.

Franklin Pierce opened the second stanza by scoring seven-straight points, keyed by back-to-back baskets from Charette and a trey from senior guard Brooke Long (Richmond, Va.). Charette laid in another basket moments later and Gardner drained a three just a few possessions after that to extend the Ravens lead to 33 at 55-22 with 11:30 to go. It marked the largest lead of the game for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce shot a solid 44 percent (26-of-59) from the field, including a 46 percent clip (10-of-22) from behind the arc. The strong three-point shooting has been a pattern as of late for the Ravens, who came into the game shooting 60 percent or better from three-point range in each of their last three conference games. Franklin Pierce leads the NE-10 in three-point shooting at nearly 40 percent.

Eight of the 10 Ravens that played in the game scored, including nine points from Johnson, who also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Franklin Pierce assisted on 23 of its 26 baskets made as Long dished out five helpers and Gardner added four.

The Ravens return to action Tuesday night when they play host to New Haven at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. 

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 women's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)