Kara Charette with a game-high 22 points for the Ravens in the win

RINDGE, N.H. (February 28, 2014) – Senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) had a terrific all-around game of 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals Friday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team to a come-from-behind 74-66 triumph over Southern Connecticut State in the first round of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Championship at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

The fourth-seeded Ravens improved to 16-11, and advanced to Sunday's quarterfinals, where they will take on the top seed out of the Southwest Division, Adelphi, at 3 p.m. in New York. Southern Connecticut, the fifth seed in the SW Division, concluded its season at 12-15.

The Ravens slogged through the first half and trailed by 10 at the break (41-31), but turned things around completely in the second half by outscoring the Owls, 43-25, while shooting 56 percent from the field.

Martelle had 16 of her points in the second 20 minutes, as she was 6-of-10 from the floor. Sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.), who netted a team-best 22 points in the game, tallied 13 of those in the final stanza to join Martelle in the surge.

Sydni Lester's jumper with 16:38 remaining staked the Owls to a 47-38 lead, but the Ravens quickly countered with six-consecutive points, including a three-pointer from senior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) and a layup from Charette, to make it a one possession game.

Those six points were part of a 23-5 run by Franklin Pierce to come from behind to take a 61-52 lead with 7:48 remaining. Junior forward Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) added to the cause with six points late in the tally, while Charette and Martelle each dropped in multiple baskets.

Franklin Pierce continued to add to its lead, and a jumper from Hurd moments later pushed the Ravens' advantage out to double-digits at 65-54.

While the Ravens were hot offensively in the second half, Southern Connecticut was just the opposite, connecting on just 10-of-37 attempts (27%).

Hurd finished the game with 11 points for the Ravens, while Keshia Primo poured in a game-high 29 points to aid Southern Connecticut's cause.

The game was the complete opposite in the first half with SCSU taking advantage of strong offensive play in building the double-digit lead at the break.

Primo had 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, and the Owls led by as many as 11. SCSU also did an outstanding job of taking care of the basketball with just three turnovers, while forcing Franklin Pierce into 11 miscues.

The Ravens finished the game with a 46-41 rebounding edge, including getting nine from Hurd and eight from Coderre.

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(.)