Women’s Basketball Holds Early Lead, Prevails over Saint Michael’s, 69-61

COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 9, 2016) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team took an early lead over Saint Michael's Purple Knights in Tuesday night's Northeast-10 contest. Ultimately, the Ravens were able to hold their lead and push to the win, 69-61.

With the win, the Ravens advance to 12-10 overall and 9-8 in the Northeast-10, while the Purple Knights fall to 7-15 overall and 3-14 in the conference.

To start the first quarter, senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.), junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) and senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) all took part a Ravens 7-0 run over the first four minutes. Senior forward Megan Gaudreau hit a three-point shot for the Purple Knights to put them on the board, and Saint Michael's was able to tie the game only three minutes later, 7-7. As time ran out in the first quarter, Gaudreau sank another three with seven seconds to go to take the lead, 13-11.

In the second quarter, Franklin Pierce took the lead, but Saint Michael's was trailing just behind, before senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) and junior guard Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) connected for back-to-back triples, making it 22-16 with the Ravens out front. Gaudreau and junior guard Indira Evora fired back with three-pointers of their own to keep the Purple Knights in the game, 26-24.

As the half concluded, the Ravens held a 34-26 lead over Saint Michaels.

The second half started with a strong shooting presence, as Bastian followed up another Gaudreau three with one of her own. Evora answered with her second three of the night, and senior guard Makenzie Burud shot yet another three to bring the Purple Knights within two points of the Ravens, but Bastian would answer last with a final shot from behind the arc to push the Ravens back ahead, 46-41.

A scoring lull due to a series of turnovers followed, and was broken by Charette, who led a 9-4 run for the Ravens to close out the third quarter. Fogle chipped in a triple on the run, which would set the Ravens up to lead 55-47 going into the fourth quarter.

The scoring started slow in the first five minutes of the quarter, as it turned into a back-and-forth game. With 2:30 to go, Gaudreau sank another three, cutting the gap to 65-57. But, with one minute to go, Bastian split a pair of free throws, then made it back to line with 45 seconds to go and sank both shots to set the Ravens ahead for their largest lead of 11 points, 68-57.

The Purple Knights' last efforts to turn the game around failed as they fell to the Ravens, 69-61.

Leading the way for the Ravens with 28 points was Charette, followed by Bastian with 16 points, and Gardner, who notched nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. From the field, the Ravens shot 47.3% (26-55), while 38 rebounds and 32 points in the paint helped pave the way to the win.

Saint Michael's was lead by Gaudreau with 18 points and Burud with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. From the field, the Purple Knights shot 41.1% (23-56), while hitting 75% (6-8) from the charity stripe and collecting 26 points in the paint.

Ravens play again on Saturday, Feb. 13, at home against Bentley 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).