RINGDE, N.H. (February 26, 2016) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team had a slow start on Friday night, and a 28-point Adelphi third quarter would ultimately go unmatched. Even senior forward Kara Charette's (Fairhaven, Mass.) double-double and career high of 34 points were not enough, as Ravens fell in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship in the Fieldhouse, 72-65.

With the loss, the Ravens -- the Northeast Division's fourth seed -- finish their 2016 season with a record of 14-13. Meanwhile, Adelphi -- the Southwest Division's fifth seed -- advances to 18-11 and will travel to American International for a quarterfinal on Sunday.

Friday featured a slow start to the game and a low-scoring first quarter. Charette scored first, followed by Adelphi senior forward Samantha Brenner. A three-pointer by senior guard Lauren Nuss would push the Panthers ahead by one, 5-4. A defensive lock would halt scoring for five minutes, before it restarted with just under three minutes to go, with a jumper by sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate, Australia). Thacker followed up the jump shot with a layup, making it 8-5, Franklin Pierce. As time expired in the first quarter, Charette got the last shot, with a layup to push the Ravens ahead, 12-7.

Second-half scoring started at the nine-minute mark, with a layup by Adelphi junior forward Calli Balfour, to make it 12-9. At the five-minute mark, Thacker sank a three-pointer to give the Ravens a 10-point lead, 23-13. Balfour answered with a jumper, and the Ravens scoring slowed from there, while the Panthers kept a steady pace. Junior forward Sierra Schrader found the backboard for a layup and sophomore guard Julia Gnieser sank a triple to end the half, 31-24, with the Ravens on top.

Adelphi owned the third quarter, with junior forward Sierra Clarke scoring the equalizer only 3:30 into the stanza, leveling the game at 33-33. A three-pointer by senior guard Tara Flynn pushed the Panthers to the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 36-33.

Franklin Pierce made it to the line three times in the second half of the third quarter, making all six free throws in the process. However, in the last two minutes Flynn went off for five points, making it 50-44. Junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) made a three-point play right after to close the gap to 50-47 in the final minute of the quarter.

Entering the final quarter, Charette and Fogle each connected, Charette with a layup, while Fogle made another three-point play to tie the game, 52-52, one minute in. It remained a neck-and-neck game, as it was tied twice more over the next five minutes, but two free throws for Balfour put Adelphi out front, 59-57, and signaled the start of the Ravens' slip.

Charette and Balfour exchanged buckets, making it 63-61 with just over a minute to go. Clark went back to the charity stripe on back-to-back and sank all four shots to the Ravens back eight points with a minute to go (69-61). Senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) cut into the deficit with a triple, but it was not enough, as the Ravens fell to the Panthers, 72-65.

Charette was brilliant in what turned out to be her collegiate finale, as her career-high 34 points stood as more than half of her team's total. She hauled down 13 rebounds along the way to cap her career with an impressive double-double. The Ravens shot 35.2% (19-54) in the field and 86.2% (25-29) from the line, with 32 points in the paint -- many coming from Charette -- to finish their season.

Leading the Panthers was Clark with 15 points, followed by Balfour with 14 points. Adelphi went 38.3% (23-60) from the field and 73.3% (22-30) from the line.

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).