Women’s Basketball Able to Push Through Merrimack Defense for 74-58 Win

Rindge, N.H. (December 12, 2015) -- It was a late start for the Franklin Pierce University Women's basketball on Saturday afternoon, as it fell behind in the first quarter to Merrimack College. However, the Ravens were able to take the lead in the second quarter and later claim it for good in the third quarter. Senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) had a season high of 27 points on the night as the Ravens took the Northeast-10 Conference win at the Fieldhouse, 74-58.

With the conference win the Ravens advance to an overall record of 3-5, and 2-4 in the Northeast-10. While the Merrimack Warriors fall to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in conference.

A Franklin Pierce foul gave the Warriors free points and allowed them to be first on the board, as senior guard Tia Scott took those shots for Merrimack.

The Warriors took an early scoring run, 6-0, for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game. Their streak was broken by Raven freshman guard Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.), who sank a three-point shot to halve the deficit.

Later, a Merrimack three-pointer by freshman guard Hannah Neild forced the Ravens into a timeout with 5:30 left in the quarter, as the Warriors took a 12-5 lead. The triple was the middle of another quick, 6-0 spurt by Merrimack.

Franklin Pierce was ultimately able to find its groove following the timeout, as Charette sank two free throws and followed with back-to-back layups. The Ravens rounded out their 9-2 scoring run with a long pass to sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate, Australia) for a layup.

The Warriors would have the last two baskets of the first quarter, with senior guard Ashley Weissmann getting in on one of those, as the quarter ended with a 20-15 Merrimack lead.

The second quarter off to a slow start, before Ravens junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) got the first points. Charette was able to tie the game (20-20) with a layup and a foul shot for the three-point play. Quickly Weissmann answered with a layup, which Charette countered to tie the game again, 22-22.

Senior guard Susie French (Greenland, N.H.) rebounded a Weissmann shot at the half-court line, leading to a fast-break score the other way, giving the Ravens their first lead of the game, 24-22.

Neild made a layup to allow Merrimack to sneak in front again, before both teams found themselves in a defensive battle for the next two minutes. The stalemate was broken by a layup from Fogle, which put the Ravens in front, 28-27, with 2:59 to play in the first half.

Warriors freshman guard Lexi Martin took two free throws, putting her team ahead with under two minutes in the half. Ravens senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) had the answer, as she sank a three-pointer to secure the lead going into the second half, 31-29.

As the second half got underway, Weissmann tied the game for the Warriors, followed by a jump shot from Neild and two good free throws form Scott for a 6-0 run, giving Merrimack a 35-31 lead.

Middleton took her opportunity and hit a three-point bucket to make it a one-point game. Following up the Franklin Pierce three-pointer was a 12-2 Ravens scoring run, with Charette doing all the work. She had a pair of three-point plays and three layups to give the Ravens a seven-point lead with just over four minutes left in the third, 46-39.

Merrimack senior guard Amanda Hoover had a three-point play of her own to break the scoring run and cut the gap to 46-41. Junior Mikayla Deguire (Watervilet, N.Y.) scored back-to-back layups for the Ravens, but Hoover answered those as well, as the score moved to 50-45. Fogle used the last seconds of the quarter to make a final basket to further the lead going into the fourth, 52-45.

The final quarter started with a good layup by Charette and junior forward Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) making a layup, which was immediately followed by a layup from Hoover. Palma followed up with a three point play to make it 59-47.

Inside the final four minutes, Charette sank a jumper as the shot clock expired, but Weissmann countered with a layup, to make it 65-55 in favor of the Ravens.

With the Warriors still within 10 points the Ravens secured their lead with a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.), as well as Bastian, to stretch the lead to 71-55.

Last-second efforts by Merrimack were not enough to come back from a 16-point deficit and the Ravens took the win, 74-58.

Leading the Ravens in scoring was Charette, with a season high of 27 points and seven rebounds, followed by Bastian with 10 points and six rebounds, while Thacker totaled nine rebounds.

For the Warriors, Weissmann had a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Scott with nine points and Hoover with eight rebounds.

The Ravens shot 44.6% from the field (29-65), got 40 points off the bench and 40 in the paint as well. They saw the line 12 times, making 10 of those shots. The Warriors shot only 29.2% (19-65) with 30 points in the paint.

The Ravens are back in action on the road at the Saint Rose Holiday Tournament where they play Chestnut Hill on Dec. 19, and Molloy on Dec. 20.

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).