Brittany Martelle with team-high 21 points in setback

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 15, 2014) – Senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) scored a team-high 21 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Franklin Pierce University Women’s Basketball team dropped a heartbreaker, 74-73, to Saint Anselm at Stoutenburgh Gym in Manchester, N.H. on Saturday.

The Ravens had their three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 14-9 overall and 11-7 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks improved to 13-10 and 9-9 in league play.

Senior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) had a chance to win it at the end, but her layup just rolled off the back iron.

Coderre’s final attempt came at the end of a furious 11-4 Franklin Pierce run over the final 2:09 of regulation after Saint Anselm had opened up a 70-62 lead following a jumper from Tori Lehr.

Despite the miss, Coderre had a major hand in the run to even let the Ravens get back into it as she opened the surge with a three-pointer and two free throws. Her two free throws with :16 remaining pulled the Ravens to within one.

Coderre finished the game with 12 points, while sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) had 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

Martelle was 9-of-13 from the floor, as Franklin Pierce shot well as a team going at a 55-percent clip (28-of-51).

Lehr netted 20 points for St. A’s, while Candace Andrews paced the Hawks’ attack with a game-high 23 points. Briana Jones chipped in 12 in the win.

Andrews sparked Saint Anselm midway through the second half with seven-consecutive points of her own on a triple and back-to-back layups to stake the Hawks to a 55-51 lead. They would continue to add to their lead over the next several minutes, opening up an eight-point advantage three times. Jones dropped in a jumper to make it 66-58, and Kierra Moore hit a driving layup minutes later to push it back out to 68-60.

Saint Anselm held a commanding 36-25 advantage on the glass, and turned it into a 13-3 advantage in second-chance points. The Hawks also converted 16 Ravens’ turnovers into 22 points.

The first half was streaky throughout with neither side able to gain complete control.

Saint Anselm scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points, but then the Ravens responded with 11-consecutive points, aided by back-to-baskets from Martelle. Franklin Pierce scored five-consecutive points moments later on a three-point play from Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) and a layup from Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) to open up a 21-15 cushion, but the Hawks countered with a 14-0 run, keyed by eight points from Lehr, to take a 29-21 lead with 6:59 to go until halftime.

Saint Anselm continued to hold onto the lead taking a 33-29 edge into the locker room. Martelle had 12 of her team-high point total in the opening 20 minutes. Andrews had 14.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to Easton, Mass. to take on Stonehill at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at http://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 http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)