Women’s Basketball Downed on the Road by New Haven, 66-61

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (January 20, 2016) -- The Franklin Pierce University Women's Basketball headed to New Haven to play the Chargers in a Northeast-10 game on Tuesday night. Despite senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) scoring a game-high of 23 points, the Ravens were not able to push past the Chargers and fell, 66-61.

With the loss, the Ravens record falls to an overall 9-7 and 6-5 in conference, while the Chargers improve 8-9 and 4-7 in the NE-10.

Charette was able to get on the board first, and senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) backed her up with a triple to take the early lead from the Chargers, 5-4. Freshman guard Alexandria Kerr split a pair of free throws to tie the game with just less than seven minutes left in the first quarter. New Haven able to gain a small lead, with Kerr making a layup, but Charette was there to re-tie the game, twice, as the score stood at 9-9 halfway through the first quarter.

Scoring would resume with three minutes to go in the frame, as junior guard Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) hit a layup to tie, followed by a three-point shot to take the lead for the Ravens, 14-11.

Over the next two minutes, New Haven had an 8-0 run, which included a pair of free throws and a layup from senior guard Lauren Hebert, giving the Chargers a 19-14 lead.

Ravens junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) hitting a buzzer-beater jumper to close in on the Chargers lead, cutting it to 19-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Over the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second, senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) and Charette connected for the only two buckets in that time to take the lead back, at 20-19. Senior guard Brianna Bradford answered quickly for the Chargers, to push past the Ravens for a one-point lead. Bradford was able to further the lead two minutes later, as she scored again to make it 25-21.

Bradford's second score kick-started a 11-3 run for the Chargers, as Bradford added a pair of free throws, Kerr made a layup and sophomore forward Khyala Trowell added a three-pointer, as New Haven jumped to a 34-24 lead 22-32 with less than three minutes to play in the half.

Charette ended the half with a 6-0 run on her own, as she hit two layups and two free throws to inch closer to the Chargers lead, which stood at 34-28 going into the second half.

The third quarter scoring started at 8:30 with Bradford splitting her free throws, and Hebert following up her teammates point with a shot from outside the arc to regain a Chargers 10-point lead, at 38-28. Bastian sank another triple to cut the lead to eight, at 39-31, but Bradford and Kerr wouldn't allow that, and the two connected for back-to-back jumpers, to make it 43-31.

Charette made moves to come back and had five consecutive points for the Ravens, making it 45-36 with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third. Bastian and Hebert battled it out for the last minute, with Bastian scoring and Hebert answering, but Bastian got the last word with yet another three to end the quarter and bring the Ravens within six, 47-41.

The fourth started on fire at both ends of the floor, as Gardner and Bastian connected for back-to-back Raven three-point buckets, but a Hebert layup in between prevented the Ravens from stealing the lead, keeping the Chargers in front, 49-47.

Scoring slowed and the game became a give-and-take affair, as junior forward Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) got in on the action with a jumper to cut the lead to 55-51, but two Bradford free throws would push the Chargers further ahead. Palma followed with another layup and a split pair of free throws as well, cutting the gap to 60-55.

In the final two minutes, Gardner made a good play for a layup, but Hebert was right behind her to further the gap by hitting a three to move the gap back to five, 63-58. Bastian brought the game within reach heading into the last 30 seconds with a layup, and Palma split a pair of free throws to bring the game within two points, 63-61, with 30 seconds to go. However, Bradford sank two free throws and the Ravens wouldn't be able to catch the lead, ultimately falling, 66-61.

Leading the scoring was Charette with 23 points, with Bastian close behind with 16 points. Franklin Pierce shot 38.3% (23-60) from the field and just 50% (9-18) from the charity stripe, while totaling 30 rebounds and 28 points in the paint.

Leading the Chargers was Hebert with 20 points, followed by Bradford with 17. New Haven went 23-54 (42.6%) from the field and 73.9% (17-23) from the line, and totaled 43 rebounds.

The Ravens return home to play host to Southern Connecticut State University on January 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the Fieldhouse.

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).