ALBANY, N.Y. (December 18, 2015) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team had three players score double digits in their non-conference game against the Chestnut Hill Griffins at the Saint Rose Holiday Classic on Saturday afternoon at Daniel. P. Nolan Gymnasium. Senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) and junior forward Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) scored 17 points each to lead the Ravens to a 73-49 victory.

With the win the Ravens advance to an overall record of 4-5, while the Griffins fall to an overall record of 3-7. Franklin Pierce closes out the Saint Rose Holiday Classic on Sunday against Molloy at noon.

Bastian was the first on the board on Saturday, scoring a layup only nine seconds into the game. The first quarter was dominated by the Ravens, as Franklin Pierce had a 16-4 scoring run over the first six minutes, with a series of layups and two three-pointers. Getting in on the scoring were senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.), with three layups, and senior guard Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge Mass.) with one, while freshman guard Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) and Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn.) each added a three-point shot.

For the Griffins, junior forward Lauren Milligan earned the team's first layup of the afternoon, followed by freshman forward Jaeda Wildgoose. The pair would score eight of the 13 points for their team in the first quarter, which ended with a 20-13 Franklin Pierce lead.

Starting the second quarter, Chestnut Hill had a 6-0 scoring run, with sophomore forward Nicole Parriski scoring two layups in the run, which helped the Griffins to come back within one point of the Ravens. Bastian answered the spurt with a three-pointer to increase the Raven lead 23-19.

After Fogle made two free throws, Charette had a layup to counter Wildgoose's layup, as the score moved to 27-21.

Bastian scored five straight points on her own, as she sank a three-point shot and then made two free throws on the next possession to push the lead to double digits with two minutes left in the half. The half would end with Palma making a layup, immediately followed by a Wildgoose layup, as the game went into halftime with a score of 36-25.

Third quarter opened with Griffin freshman guard Mary Trossi making a layup, which was followed by Franklin Pierce's Gardner making one of her own. Halfway through the quarter Palma had a four-point spurt, as she put up a layup followed by two good free throws, stretching the lead back to 42-30. Later, Palma recorded another layup, which sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate, Australia) followed up with a three-pointer, to make it 50-31, causing Chestnut Hill to take a timeout with just under three minutes in the third quarter.

A defensive battle created a scoring lull for two minutes which was broken by Griffins junior guard Brittany McDonough. Trossi would get the last say in the quarter with a layup at the buzzer, and the third quarter ended with the score 52-35 in favor of the Ravens.

The final quarter started off slow, before Milligan found her way to the basket for a layup, which was followed by a Bastian jumper 45 seconds later. Wildgoose and Milligan shared a six-point scoring run which Bastian ended with a three-point shot, and Palma followed up the three-pointer with back to back layups, stretching the lead back out to 61-45.

With just under five minutes to go the Ravens found themselves on a 10-0 scoring run. Bastian started the run with a jumper, and Palma took control from there with two layups and a free throw. Junior guard Dana Campbell (Merrick N.Y.) hit a three-point shot, and senior guard Susie French (Greenland, N.H.) topped it off with a layup, which put the score at 73-45. Milligan added two free throws and a layup in the last two minutes for Chestnut Hill to create the 73-49 final.

Leading the scoring for the Ravens were Bastian and Palma with 17 points apiece, followed by Charette with 10 points. Fogle and Palma each recorded eight rebounds, while Gardner collected seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Leading Chestnut Hill were Milligan and Wildgoose with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

In the field the Ravens shot 42.9% (27-63) and went 100% in free throws (12-12). They totaled 48 rebounds and had 31 points off the bench.

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).