NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (February 8, 2018) – Merrimack College sophomore forward Denia Davis Stewart recorded a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high six blocks in a 65-36 victory against Northeast-10 Conference opponent Franklin Pierce University Thursday evening on Hammel Court. With the win, the Warriors improve to 13-9, 9-8 NE10 while the Ravens dropped their 16th conference showdown.

Davis-Stewart played only 20 minutes but was 5-of-6 (83.3%) shooting the rock. Two other players, junior guard Lindsay Werner and Mayson Kimball tallied double-digit scoring performances. For the Ravens, sophomore guard Mya Mosley (Worcester, Mass.) racked up a team-high 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Mosley chipped in four boards and three thefts. Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) added five points, three caroms, and one steal.

Merrimack won the tip-off and Kimball notched an and1 just four seconds in with the free throw conversion to open up an early 3-0 edge. The Warriors tacked on another basket to lead 5-0 before a post feed from the right block by freshman forward Freya Cooney (Woodbridge, England) to an open Mayo on the left block gave the Crimson and Grey their first points of the duel. Trailing 6-2, Mosley cut the Raven deficit to two when she drained a mid-range jumper at the top of the point with 6:04 left in the quarter. Mosley kept attacking the basket as she drove through the lane, put up a running floater from the free throw line while being fouled. She missed the freebie as the Ravens were down 7-6 at the 4:15 mark. Merrimack went on a 9-0 binge to open up a 16-6 advantage following Davis-Stewart lay-in down on the right block. Cooney concluded the Warrior spurt by taking the ball into right side of the lane for two markers. The Ravens trailed 16-8 after the first 10 minutes.

The Warriors momentum carried over to the second quarter as Davis-Stewart blocked her fourth attempt of the game, which resulted in a Werner fast break hoop and harm to increase the hosts' advantage to 21-8 with 8:13 to go in the half. Claudia Tucci (Trumbull, Conn.) answered right back with an old-fashioned three-point play of her own, but the freshman missed the charity stripe attempt as the Birds trailed 21-10. Merrimack manufactured four more markers to establish a 15 point, 25-10 lead until Samari Winklaar (South Boston, Mass.) gained one point back via a free throw conversion. Down by 19, the Ravens brought the Warrior lead to 13 after Sophia Holmes (Oakland, Maine) knocked down two free throws, Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) drove left and threw in a layup then Tucci spun home a layup in the restricted area. Alyssa Torres and Emily Houle ended the half with points in the paint as the Ravens trailed 34-17.

Merrimack doubled up the Ravens score in each of the first stanza periods. Franklin Pierce struggled from the hardwood shooting only 7-of-31 (22.6%) which included a 0-of-8 mark from beyond the arc.

Franklin Pierce tallied the first basket of the second half when Thacker fed a wide-open Mayo in the post who used a pump fake, which allowed Davis-Stewart to blow by her. Merrimack responded by dropping the next 10 points to up their lead to 44-19. Merrimack outscored the Ravens 16-5 in the third to lead 50-22.

The Ravens return home to the Fieldhouse for three of their final four contests, the first on Saturday versus NE10 opponent Stonehill College at 1:30 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). You can also follow the women's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensWBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/franklin_pierce_wbb/)