Women's Basketball's Hot Shooting Propels Ravens to 99-76 Win over UMass-Lowell

Amanda Saab goes for 19 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds

RINDGE, N.H. (December 8, 2012) – Four Ravens scored in double-figures, including a team-high 20 points from freshman forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.), to lead the Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team to a 99-76 win over UMass-Lowell on Saturday afternoon at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens ran their record to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the Northeast-10, while the River Hawks fell to 5-3 and 3-3 in league play.

For Charette, it was her third 20-point performance of the season and it marked her seventh double-figure scoring output in eight games this season. She was 7-of-9 from the field and also collected five rebounds.

Senior forward Amanda Saab (Windham, N.H.) tossed in a career-high tying 19 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and a 9-of-12 effort from the free throw line. She wasn’t too far off a triple-double as she handed out nine assists and collected six rebounds.

Junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) came off the bench to go 7-of-9 from the field and bomb in five three-pointers, as she too, rained in 19 points. Classmate Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) also got into the scoring act from behind the arc as she drained four triples and netted 13 points with seven assists.

The four double-figure scorers were just part of an impressive offensive attack for the Ravens as they shot 69 percent (33-of-48) from the field, including an impressive 12-of-18 (67%) from three-point range. Franklin Pierce assisted on 30 of its 33 baskets made, as senior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.) handed out a career-high nine helpers of her own to go along with Saab’s and McDonald’s high totals.

Franklin Pierce really started stroking it from behind the arc in the opening stages of the second half as the Ravens totaled seven three pointers in the first eight minutes to essentially pull away for the victory.

McDonald knocked down three-consecutive treys in a two-minute span to enable the Ravens to open up a 64-38 lead with 16:15 remaining in the game. Saab followed with a three of her own and Martelle knocked one down on Franklin Pierce’s next possession. Junior forward Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England), who was making her season debut after suffering an injury during the preseason, laid in a basket at the 14:02 mark and the Ravens held a commanding 72-41 lead.

Martelle knocked down a three-pointer moments later to extend Franklin Pierce’s lead out to 32 at 77-45.

UMass-Lowell couldn’t recover from the barrage of three-pointers the Ravens threw in and could never get closer than 22 points the rest of the way. Franklin Pierce led by as many as 33 in the remaining minutes as the Ravens picked up their fifth double-digit win of the season.

Franklin Pierce’s high shooting percentage did not just come from the outside, but also a commanding presence in the paint as the Ravens held a 36-18 edge in points down low.

Junior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) did a nice job penetrating during the game and got multiple layups on the way to nine points. Hurd had eight points – all in the paint – to go along with her four boards. Johnson added four points on a pair of layups and also had nine rebounds and five steals.

Franklin Pierce opened the game with back-to-back baskets from Johnson and Coderre, which was part of a 12-2 run by the Ravens a little more than three minutes in.

The River Hawks tried to trim into the deficit and got it to six at 16-10 with 12:01 left until halftime on a three-pointer from Jennifer Gonsalves. The Ravens, however, countered by scoring 16 of the next 21 points, keyed by a pair of triples from Martelle, to build a 32-15 lead. Franklin Pierce eventually took a 48-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Bianca Simmons led Lowell with a game-high 25 points, while Gonsalves followed with 14. The River Hawks shot just 31 percent (25-of-80) from the floor and were outrebounded by a count of 44-28.

Franklin Pierce is off until later in December when it competes in the Big Easy Challenge in New Orleans. The Ravens will play a pair of games on Dec. 29-30.

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(.)