RINDGE, N.H. (February 18, 2015)-

Franklin Pierce Women's basketball battled back from a 12 point deficit early in the game to take control at the start of the second half Wednesday night at the Fieldhouse The Ravens defeated nationally ranked number 10 Stonehill University 81-71 in Northeast-10 Conference play. 

The Ravens increased their record to 16-8 overall, bumping to 12-7 in Northeast-10 Conference play, while Stonehill drops 20-3 overall and 16-3 in Northeast-10 play.

The Skyhawks controlled the game by 12:22 in the first half with a 12 point lead- the largest lead the Skyhawks would have the entire contest. The Ravens battled the remainder of the half to keep the deficit in single digits, with the half ending with a one point game with a layup by sophomore Alison Palma (Stamford, Conn.), 37-36.

Sophmore Kelly Martin finished the half with 13 points, with Charette posting 11. The Ravens shot 90% from the freethrow line, whereas the Skyhawks were 85.7%.

The Ravens started out the second half with relentless determination and by 18:48 the Ravens had control of the game with a set of free throws by graduate student Jessica Hurd (Kegworth, England), 38-37, giving the Ravens control for the remainder of the game.  

Junior Kara Charette's (Fairhaven, Mass.) layup at 16:11 brought the Ravens to a short-lived nine point lead, 48-39, with junior Shannon Brown bringing the game within four points a minute later, 48-44. At 13:25, Charette's layup would bring the game back within nine points, 53-44.

The Skyhawks fought to take the lead back and the game was within four points by 9:25 with a jumper by freshman Samantha Hyslip. Sophomore Jasmyne Fogel (Bridgeport, Conn.) increased the Raven lead to nine points by 5:21, 64-55.

With just over a minute to play, senior Tori Faieta brought the game within five with her layup, but graduate student Kate McDonald (Fall River, Mass.) sunk both of her free throws to secure the Raven win, 70-63.

McDonald would shoot 7-8 from the free throw line for the final minutes of the game. Hurd and Charette each added in free throws to give the Ravens a 81-71 win.

Kelly Martin had 21 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists, with Tori Faieta netting 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block, followed by junior Paige Marshall with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Kara Charette posted 26 points, with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Jessica Hurd had 18 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Kate McDonald had a total of 9 points with 2 rebounds, and 4 assists, with junior Natalie Bastian (Branford, Conn.) also adding 9 points, with 3 rebounds. Junior Dyamond Gardner (Cambridge, Mass.) had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals.

The Ravens are on the road to take on Merrimack Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in Northeast-10 Conference play.

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' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).