SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 13, 2016) -- The Franklin Pierce women's basketball dealt the No. 20 nationally ranked American International Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season on Wednesday evening at Butova Gymnasium, 62-55. Senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) led three Ravens in double figures with 19 points in the Northeast-10 Conference contest.

With the win, Franklin Pierce advances to 8-5 overall and 5-4 in conference, while AIC falls to 15-1 overall and 8-1 in the Northeast-10.

The game started with a layup from Charette, but the quarter remained a back-and-forth contest throughout. Senior forward Kamika Mason got the first two buckets for the Yellow Jackets. Charette and junior forward Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) were able connect for six Raven points as AIC held an early, 9-8, lead.

Following senior center Sydney Tepley's jumper, senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) hit a three-pointer to tie the game, 11-11, with just over four minutes to go in the period. Mason able to get in a quick layup, but Bastian followed that up with yet another three-pointer to round out the first quarter, with the Ravens leading 14-13.

The Ravens started the second quarter strong, as senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) opened the scoring with back-to-back layups. A Yellow Jacket three-point ball by senior guard Brianna Bishop was matched by sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate, Australia) with just over seven minutes in the half, as Franklin Pierce held a 21-19 lead through the midpoint of the quarter.

The scoring went quiet from both teams from there, before Thacker again made a shot from outside the arc to push the Ravens further ahead, 24-19. Following the bucket the Yellow Jackets put together a 6-0 run to move out front with just over a minute left, 25-24. Palma converted a three-point play to push the Ravens back to the lead again before time would expire in the first half with Franklin Pierce leading, 27-25.

The second half started with Charette and Palma both scoring, but AIC squeezed past the Ravens after two layups topped off with a three-point basket by Bishop, giving the Yellow Jackets a 32-31 lead. Franklin Pierce answered to regain the lead, as Palma had another three-point play, which junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) followed with a layup, pushing the Ravens back in front, 36-33.

Freshman forward Dana Watts and Bishop connected to collect back-to-back buckets, but the small lead was erased by another Thacker three-pointer, which made it 41-40, Franklin Pierce.

The final scoring of the period was dominated by the Ravens with Bastian, Charette and Gardner combining to sink five free throws. The foul shots made it an 8-0 run for the Ravens, who took a six-point lead -- their largest thus far -- into the fourth quarter, at 46-40.

The fourth quarter started off slow, with each team only making one shot over nearly the first five minutes. The Yellow Jackets closed within one point of the Ravens after Mason and junior guard Imani Stepney had good back-to-back layups to make the score 49-48 with just over three minutes to go.

A Raven three-point play at the hands of Charette started another 8-0 run for Franklin Pierce, this one putting the game away. Gardner chipped in on the run with a three-pointer and Palma polished it off with a jumper, pushing the lead to nine (57-48) with under a minute to go.

Mason scored twice for her team in attempt to spark a comeback, but the Ravens sank five free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice. AIC's final basket came via a three-pointer from Stepney to cut the gap to six with 15 seconds to go, but it was not enough to revive the Yellow Jackets, as they suffer their first loss of the season, 62-55.

Leading scoring for the Ravens was Charette with 19 points, followed by Palma with 13, Thacker with 11 and Gardner with nine points and 10 assists, narrowly missing a double-double. The team totaled 44.4% (20-45) in the field and won despite shooting just 59.3% (16-27) from the line. The Ravens had 13 points off the bench and 26 points in the paint.

For the Yellow Jackets, Mason scored 20 points, followed by Stepney with nine. The team went just 33.3% (22-66) from the field ad 80% from the 10 times it went to the line.

The Ravens return home on Saturday, Jan. 16, where they play host to Saint Rose at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).