Brittany Martelle tosses in 20 points in the win

COLCHESTER, Vt. (November 20, 2013) – Senior guard Brooke Coderre (Woonsocket, R.I.) drained back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes of overtime to reverse momentum and help the Franklin Pierce University women’s basketball team stave off a potential devastating collapse by pulling out a 75-69 overtime win at Saint Michael’s on Wednesday night in Colchester, Vt.

Coderre was one of four Ravens to score in double-figures to help Franklin Pierce win its second-straight game to improve to 2-2 (1-0 Northeast-10), while St. Mike’s dipped to 1-3 (0-1 NE-10).

Her first three-ball came on the opening shot of the extra session, and snapped a 64-all tie after Indira Evora rained in a three of her own with just :04 remaining in regulation to send it to overtime. Evora’s tying three capped a furious 34-12 run by the Purple Knights over the final 13:32 of the game to come all the way back from a 52-30 deficit.

Coderre followed once again with a triple a minute later to push Franklin Pierce’s lead out to 70-64, which proved to be the winner as this time St. Mike’s could not come up with an answer.

Coderre’s second three was part of her 12 points on the night, and came after junior forward Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England) ripped down an offensive rebound to keep possession for the Ravens. Hurd came off the bench to log a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and her offensive board prior to Coderre’s bomb was one of the three huge rebounds on the offensive glass in overtime that enabled the Ravens to seal the win.

Franklin Pierce clung to a slim 72-69 lead with just :16 remaining, as Hurd grabbed another board off a Franklin Pierce miss, thus now allowing St. Mike’s a potential game-tying possession. Her third offensive board came just seconds later after a Franklin Pierce miss at the free throw line. Hurd was immediately fouled and sunk the ensuing two free throws to cap the win.

Sophomore forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) and senior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) were Franklin Pierce’s other double-digit scorers with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Charette logged 20-or-more points for the fourth time in as many games this season, while Martelle rained in a pair of three’s, including one with 13:32 remaining to push the Ravens’ lead out to a comfortable 52-30 advantage.

The Purple Knights, though, rallied and began slowly chipping away at the deficit before finally busting through with a furious 18-1 run to cut their deficit to 59-57 with 2:42 to go. Makenzie Burud, Kaitlin Geary, and Evora each pumped in a three to begin the surge with nine-straight points, and after a Charette free throw halted the first string, the Purple Knights were back at it with another nine points in a row, highlighted by another five points from Burud.

Alexa Long finally equaled things up at 61-61 with a jumper with 1:35 left, but the Ravens seemed to settle things down with another free throw from Charette a;nd two from Martelle in the waning seconds to give Franklin Pierce a three-point lead. The settled feeling, though, didn’t last long as Evora’s closing three sparked the extra five minutes.

Long was Saint Michael’s offensive catalyst with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Burud and Evora pumped in 16 apiece. Evora’s performance came in a reserve role.

Franklin Pierce shot 45 percent (29-of-64) from the field, and limited St. Mike’s to just 31 percent shooting (22-of-70).

Long spearheaded St. Mike’s surge to start the game, as she scored six early points to help give the Purple Knights a 13-10 lead, but the Ravens countered with 11-consecutive points on the strength of seven of those from Charette.

Franklin Pierce stifled Saint Michael’s offensively the rest of the first half in building a 36-23 lead at halftime, and then adding to it in the early stages of the second half before the Purple Knights made things interesting.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens travel to North Andover, Mass. to take on Merrimack at 1 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(.)