WORCESTER, Mass. (December 5, 2015) - Franklin Pierce University Women's Basketball hit the road on Saturday, and grabbed an early lead in the game. However, the Ravens could not hold down their opponent, the Assumption Greyhounds, and were able to surpass the Ravens in the final 10 minutes and create a point deficit Franklin Pierce could not recover from, as the crimson and grey fell 61-52 in Northeast-10 Conference play.

With the loss the Ravens record falls to 4-1 overall and, 1-2 in the Northeast-10 conference. While the Greyhounds improve their record to 6-2 overall and, 4-1 in conference.

The first quarter the Ravens found themselves with a 7-0 scoring run for the first two and a half minutes. Senior forward Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass), sophomore guard Jemma Thacker (Aldgate, Australia) each started with two points, and senior guard Dyamond Gardener (Cambridge, Mass) sunk a shot from behind the three point line to give the Ravens an early lead.

An Assumption timeout would give the Greyhounds time to recollect themselves and were able to reconvene and score their first points of the game by junior guard Kelly Carey sinking with a layup and earning a found shot to bring the game to 7-3.

Franklin Pierce senior guard Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn) upped the score even further with a three-pointer given the Ravens again, a seven point lead at 10-3.

Scoring would remain quiet for the next three minutes as both teams faced turnovers and missed shots. Ravens junior guard Jasmyne Fogle (Bridgeport, Conn) restarted the scoring, a three-pointer with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter.

Gardner notched two more layups, further increasing the Ravens lead to 17-3, the Ravens largest lead of 14-points. Greyhound junior guard Morgan O'Brien was able to sneak in a jump shot and a layup before the end the first quarter, with the Ravens leading, 19-7.

The second quarter began with Assumption putting up the first three-points, and Ravens would not answer them until four minutes into the quarter, with Charette breaking the silence. Carey was able to score back to back buckets for Assumption, making a layup and a three-point shot to bring the Greyhounds within three points of the Ravens with 4:30 left in the half.

Raven junior guard Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) would answer with a three-pointer of her own, but Assumption junior guard Shayla Hubbard would get the last basket before the half expired, bringing the score to 24-19 in favor of Franklin Pierce.

As the second half started, the Ravens put up a 7-4 scoring run through the first three minutes, ending with Carey sinking yet another three-pointer for the Greyhounds.

Gardner, Bastian, and Charette each connected for baskets for the Ravens, and a good three-pointer from Thacker secured an 11-point lead at 40-29. Assumption put together another comeback, connecting for the next three baskets of the game, as senior forward Ann Marie Idusuyi and junior forward Jaclyn Storey made layups and O'Brien a three-point shot to bring Assumption within striking distance.

The Greyhounds were able to bring the score to 44-41 going into the fourth quarter, and within two minutes were bale to take the lead after Storey and junior point guard Allison Stoddard made layups.

The Ravens quickly gained the lead back for a brief time, before Carey scored seven consecutive points for the Greyhounds, making the game 51-46 in favor of Assumption with five minutes to go.

Scoring would be at a standstill for the next three minutes, until Storey and Stoddard both hit three-point shots with just over a minute to go, giving the Greyhound's their largest lead of the game that they would hold until the final buzzer.

Leading the scoring the Ravens was Gardner with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, followed close behind by Charette with 12 points.

Leading the Greyhounds was Carey with 17 points, and Storey with 11 points. O'Brien added in nine points and a team-leading four assists.

Ravens shot 38.5% (20-52) from the field, and 70% from the 10 times they made it to the line. Franklin Pierce collected 36 rebounds, and 26 points came from in the paint.

Franklin Pierce returns to action on Wednesday, December 9 when they travel to Holy Family. Game time is set for 6 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 basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).