PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y (January 26, 2016) -- A first-quarter 15-4 run assisted the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team in its conference win on Tuesday night at Pace. Junior forward Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) had a double-double as five Ravens earned double-digit points on the road in a 70-65 win in Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-7 (8-5 NE-10), while Pace falls to 10-11 (5-8 NE-10).

The Ravens started the first quarter falling behind, but Palma started a 15-4 run with a layup. Getting in on the action were sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate Australia), with five consecutive points, and senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.), who drained a three-pointer as the Ravens took the lead with just over three minutes to go in the quarter.

The Ravens ended the quarter with a parade of thee-pointers, with Thacker starting off and senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass) following. Senior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn) hit a buzzer beater, pushing the Ravens lead to 22-13 at the end of the first.

Freshman guard Alexandra Monteleone opened the second quarter with a three which would start a 6-0 Setters run, and sophomore guard Gabriella Rubin hit an equalizer three-point shot four minutes in, leveling the score at 22-22. Palma answered first for the Ravens, but scoring remained quiet for the Ravens, as Pace found themselves another run, 16-4, until the last three minutes of the quarter. Fogle hit two free throws to keep the Ravens close, as the Setters led the way, 29-28.

Bastian notched a fast-break layup for Franklin Pierce to regain the lead, and Gardner followed suit with a layup to make it 36-31. Freshman guard Stefanie Svoboda's triple to end the half to cut the Pace deficit to two points, 36-34, heading into the halftime break.

A back-and-forth third quarter put the teams neck-and-neck to start the fourth, with the Ravens now trailing by one, 49-48.

Neither team could take more than a two-point lead until the waning seconds, and senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) made a layup in the last minute of the game, giving Franklin Pierce the lead for good at 66-65. After Pace turned the ball over, the Setters had to resort to fouling in the final 30 seconds, but Gardner and Charette each buried a pair of free throws to seal the deal, as the Ravens came away with the 70-65 lead.

Three Ravens led the scoring on Tuesday, as Palma, Charette and Thacker all had 13 points, Palma had a double-double, as she added 10 rebounds as well. Bastian and Gardner had 12 points each, while Gardner also earned eight rebounds and five assists on the night, all without turning the ball over. The Ravens shot 43.1% (22-51) from the field tonight and 80% on their 25 free throw shots.

Leading the Setters were Rubin and Kristen Dodge, with both tallying 18 points. Pace shot 43.3% (26-60) from the field and 66.7% (8-12) on their free shots, while collecting 38 points in the paint.

The Ravens play next at Le Moyne on January 30th at 12 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).