Women's Basketball Runs Away from Nyack 81-54 in Season Opener

Kara Charette logs 21 points and 9 rebounds in collegiate debut; Dyamond Gardner pumps in 15 points in her collegiate debut

MANCHESTER, N.H. (November 9, 2012) -- Freshman forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) nearly logged a double-double in her collegiate debut as she totaled 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to an 81-54 win over Nyack on Friday night at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H. The Ravens improved to 1-0, while the Warriors dipped to 0-1.

Charette scored her game-high total on an impressive 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) notched 14 points (7-of-13 shooting), while also dishing out three assists and registering two rebounds, assists and blocks apiece to help in the winning effort.

Sophomore guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) came off the bench to pump in 15 points in her collegiate debut, while also ripping down eight boards and handing out four assists. Senior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) netted five points, but also collected 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a pair of blocks.

The win also came in the head coaching debut for Jennifer Leedham, who was named to the post following last season. Leedham had spent the previous three seasons as the assistant coach of the program following a brilliant playing career in Rindge (2005-09), which saw her guide the Ravens to the 2009 NCAA Division II National Championship game.

Khamari Tellis and Courtney Peay tossed in 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Warriors in the setback.

Franklin Pierce raced out to a 17-2 lead a little more than six minutes into the contest and never looked back in picking up the triumph. Six different Ravens scored during the opening surge, including four points from Charette and a three-pointer from junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.).

Charette followed by knocking down a jumper and laying in another basket, while Gardner tallied a three-point play to keep the Ravens lead at 15 -- 24-9 -- moments later.

Gardner pumped in a triple near the end of the half to extend Franklin Pierce's advantage to 48-27, and the Ravens eventually took a 51-29 lead into halftime after freshman guard Ashley Forand (Storrs, Conn.) knocked down a trey of her own in the closing seconds.

Franklin Pierce led by as many as 28 points in the second half at 61-33 following Johnson's jumper with 16:09 left.

The Ravens lead hovered around 20 points the remainder of the contest as they cruised in for the victory.

Franklin Pierce shot 44 percent (35-of-80) from the floor, while defensively the Ravens did a solid job of frustrating Nyack from beyond the arc as the Warriors converted just one of its six three-point attempts.

The Ravens return to action Saturday afternoon when they take on the University of Sciences at 2 p.m. in Manchester. 

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(.)