Raven Second Chances Not Enough in Setback to Warriors

RINDGE, N.H. (December 5, 2017) – Two players scored 20 points apiece including a double-double effort from Alyssa Casey as the Merrimack College Warriors came into The Fieldhouse and defeated Franklin Pierce University 76-44 Tuesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action. With the victory, the Warriors move to 5-3, 3-2 NE10 while the Ravens fall to 4-6 overall and 1-5 NE10.

Sophomore guard Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) led all Ravens with 10 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one block. Fellow starter Diondra Woumn (Lynn, Mass.) dropped six points and snagged five boards. Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) came down with a match-best five offensive caroms and Freya Cooney (Woodbridge, England) tallied four points, four rebounds, one block and one assist in 14 minutes off the bench.

Casey's double-double was a 20 point, 11 board effort. 13 of her 20 points came in the first stanza as she was a perfect 5-of-5 from the hardwood and 3-of-3 from deep. Merrimack junior guard Lindsay Werner manufactured a game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 (50.0%) shooting including 6-of-8 (75.0%) efficiency from long range.

Merrimack won the battle in the post and off turnovers while shooting a high percentage from the floor. Franklin Pierce hustled on the boards and racked up 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second-chance points. FPU also had assists on 11 of their 16 field goal conversions.

The Warriors held a 5-0 edge in the early going before freshman guard Demi Akins (Cambridge, Mass.) connected on a three-ball from the right wing to break the scoreless start for the hosts a minute and a half in. Trailing by three, Woumn ripped the rock away from Casey and scored a reverse layup a few seconds later, which cut the Raven deficit to one, 8-7. Following a jumper from the top of the key by Hannah Martin (Woodland Hills, Calif.), the Warriors used an assault from long range as they hit four deep connections to up their advantage to 16, 29-13 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Martin and Mayo brought the Raven deficit to 18 via jumpers, but that was the closest they would come as Pierce trailed 41-21 at the intermission. The Merrimack lead climbed to 27 with 7:16 left in the third. The Crimson and Grey brought the deficit down to 17 over a span of four minutes as they used a 12-2 run which included a Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) catch and shoot three-ball and a Cooney scoop from the left side underneath the hoop as FPU trailed 52-35. Merrimack would notch the next 11 points as they iced the contest.

The Ravens head out on the road for their next four contests beginning with NE10 opponent Assumption College Thursday at 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).