Kara Charette tosses in 16 points in the win

RINDGE, N.H. (February 16, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team won for the ninth straight time at home on Saturday as the Ravens used a second half run to pull away for a 67-47 win over Saint Anselm in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 16-7 overall and 13-6 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks fell to 4-19 and 1-18 in league play.

Junior guard Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) had an outstanding game with a season-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-5 effort from behind the arc. One of those four three-pointers came at the 12:56 mark of the second half, which sparked a 17-2 surge by the Ravens after they had fallen behind, 34-33, to St. A’s.

Freshman forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.), who pumped in 16 points, followed with a three-point play and junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) scored the next five points on a layup and a trey from the left wing. Martelle bombed in another three moments later and McDonald capped the surge with a jumper from 15 feet to give the Ravens a 50-36 lead, as they would not look.

McDonald wasn’t finished, though, and drained a triple minutes later while also following with four-consecutive points after another layup from Martelle.

Martelle finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, marking the 12^th time this season she has come off the bench to toss in double-figures.

Overall, Franklin Pierce outscored the Hawks, 34-13, over the final 12:56 of the game. McDonald didn’t just score to spark Franklin Pierce’s furious finish as she also ripped down eight rebounds and handed out a trio of assists.

The Ravens also took care of the basketball by committing just eight turnovers, which hindered Saint Anselm’s attempt at staying in the game. Franklin Pierce came up big on the defensive end by forcing the Hawks into 16 miscues and scoring 16 points off of those.

The one area which allowed Saint Anselm to remain in the game for the most part was 32 points inside.

The Hawks, who had lost 13 in a row entering the contest, showed their resiliency in the opening 20 minutes and were competitive by making their way into the paint for high percentage shots and only trailed, 24-22, at the intermission.

Franklin Pierce was able to take the slim margin into halftime thanks in part to eight points scored off of Saint Anselm turnovers, which the Hawks committed early in the game.

Saint Anselm kept it a competitive game in the opening stages of the second half and a jumper from Raquel Johnson a little more than three minutes in staked the Hawks to a 30-26 lead.

The teams continued to exchange baskets until McDonald’s three ball got things rolling in the Ravens’ favor.

Allie Jones and Briana Jones led all Saint Anselm scorers with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens play host to Bentley at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse. The game will mark Senior Night as the Ravens will honor the 2013 senior class featuring Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.), Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) and Brooke Long (Richmond, Va.).

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(.)