Amanda Saab adds 11 points on Senior Night for the Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (February 20, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team gave a spirited effort on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough as the No. 1 nationally ranked Bentley Falcons outlasted the Ravens, 74-63, at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Franklin Pierce had its nine-game home winning streak snapped in falling to 16-8 overall and 13-7 in the Northeast-10, while Bentley improved to 24-0 and 20-0 in league play.

Four Ravens scored in double-figures, led by senior guard Tiffany Johnson's (St. Albans, Vt.) 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Johnson also added six steals and six assists in the game.

Junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench to score in double-figures for the fourth-consecutive game as she knocked down a trio of three-pointers and scored 13 points.

Senior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) and freshman frontcourt-mate Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) went for 11 and 10 points, respectively. Johnson and Saab, along with guard Brooke Long (Richmond, Va.) were playing their final regular season home games as the three upperclassmen were honored before the game on Senior Night.

Lauren Battista netted a game-high 20 points for the Falcons, to go along with nine rebounds, while Jacqui Brugliera followed with 13 points. Christiana Bakolas rounded out Bentley's double-figure scoring attack with 11 points.

Bentley looked like it would walk away with the game early as the Falcons raced out to a 20-8 lead on the strength of six points from Battista and five from Brugliera. 

Franklin Pierce, however, countered and five-straight points from Martelle -- including a deep trey from the right wing -- sparked a surge by the Ravens as they went on a 16-8 run to pull within four at 28-24 with 3:37 left until halftime. Johnson tossed in back-to-back layups late in the run to aid it, but Bentley righted itself and a Kelsey Roberson three at the buzzer staked the Falcons to a 36-27 lead at halftime.

The Falcons appeared to be pulling away once again in the early stages of the second half as a Bakolas layup staked them to a 49-35 lead four minutes in.

Junior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) and Johnson each laid in baskets on Franklin Pierce's next two possessions to trim the deficit to 10. Bentley's lead hovered around that range as it could never pull away completely.

Franklin Pierce used a mini 5-0 run late in the game following a three from Martelle and a pair of free throws from Charette to get within single digits at 70-61, but that was as close as the Ravens would come. Bentley was able to make its free throws late to dash any hope of a Franklin Pierce comeback.

Bentley held a commanding 43-28 advantage on the boards and attempted 24 free throws (making 22 of those) as compared to just nine attempts for the Ravens (made 6 of those). Both teams shots 41 percent from the field.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens travel to face UMass-Lowell at 2 p.m.

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(.)