RINDGE, N.H. (November 19, 2016) – It came down to the last possession for the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team in their home opener against no. 1 nationally ranked Bentley, but the Falcons held on for a 61-60 win over the Ravens in Rindge on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference action. With the victory, Bentley remains undefeated at 4-0, 2-0 NE-10 and FPU drops to 1-3, 0-2 NE-10.

The Ravens trailed by seven, 61-54 with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter and the Ravens defensive unit held the guests to zero points over that span. The Crimson and Grey's perimeter defense slowed down Bentley's three-point shooting in the contest as they connected on only 2-of-15 (13.3%) from deep.

FPU capitalized on turnovers and second chance opportunities outscoring Bentley by an 18-8 margin off turnovers and 17-7 after keeping possessions alive. Bentley scored 44-of-61 (72.1%) of their points in the paint.

Junior forward Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) played 32 minutes off the bench and scored 15 points and snagged a game-best 16 rebounds en route to a double-double. Dana Campbell (Merrick, N.Y.) tallied 15 points and six boards for FPU. Paving the way for the Falcons was Jen Gemma who poured in a game-high 21 points and grabbed a team-best nine boards. Teammate Macchi Smith added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the win.

Campbell gave the hosts their first lead of the opening frame with a layup off the glass that came after two possession saving offensive boards from Mayo. A few possessions later, Campbell followed up her own miss and Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.) dished the rock to Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) at the three-point line and Thacker swished home a three to give FPU a 11-10 lead.

On the next Ravens possession Campbell connected on a layup after two offensive rebounds to build the Ravens lead to 13-10. Four straight from the visitors regained the lead to their side before Cameryn Wilson (Newport News, Va.) knocked in a three-ball at the buzzer to give FPU the 16-14 lead after one.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Bentley tallied four in a row to knot up the game for the fifth time. A 10-1 Ravens run ensued with two three-pointers by Wilson and Campbell that were bookended by Palma points gave FPU a six point, 26-20 lead. The Ravens built their lead up to a game-high nine points after Mayo was fouled on a layup from underneath and knocked down the freebie for the three point play. Gemma nailed two free throws with 20 ticks left to head in the half down, seven 31-24.

Slowly but surely Bentley chipped away at the deficit in the third scoring six in a row to bring the Ravens lead down to two, 35-33. The FPU advantage grew back up to six three times thanks to buckets by Mikayla Deguire (Watervilet, N.Y.), Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) and Campbell.

Sophomore guard Amy McConnell came off pine and tallied eight straight points and a steal to tie the game at the 2:33 mark. A Mayo layup and free throw put Pierce up by a possession once again, but Cassie Smith and Macchi Smith scored layups each which gave Bentley a one point advantage at the end of three.

Bentley held a seven point advantage with under five minutes left and looked poised to add to their lead. FPU's defense tightened as they allowed no points over the final minutes of the game. Mayo brought the Falcon lead down to six as she made one of two free throws. On the next Pierce possession, Cameryn Wilson drove to the rack and was harmed on her way to the hoop while putting home two points. Wilson drained the free throw for the and1 play and more importantly made it a one possession game with 2:27 left.

After a missed jumper and two free throws, Campbell put in a jumper at the 1:35 mark from the right wing and the Ravens deficit was down to one. FPU golden chance to steal the game came at the buzzer when Mayo attempted a layup from the low block, the ball bounced off the backboard and around before it was tipped by a Ravens player out of bounds with one second left effectively ending the comeback bid.

The Ravens return to the hardwood on Tuesday for an NE-10 duel at Southern New Hampshire with tip-off slated for 5:30 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).