RINDGE, N.H. – (February 15, 2017) – Five players scored in double figures including senior forward Mikayla Deguire (Watervilet, N.Y.) as the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team defeated Northeast-10 Conference foe Southern New Hampshire University 76-69 on Wednesday evening in The Fieldhouse. The win was the Crimson and Grey's third of the year and the first conference victory on the campaign while the setback sends the Penmen to 11-15, 6-13 NE10.

This evening against SNHU was the fifth game of the women's team Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. FPU converted 8-of-17 (47.1%) from long range meaning $116.00 has been donated to the American Cancer Society. Since the challenge began two weeks ago, the Crimson and Grey have gone 27-of-83 (32.5%) from deep and have amassed a total of $391.50 to the ACS. To make a pledge for the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge please click here.

Deguire led the Raven offensive attack with a team-best 16 points including 10 markers in the second half on 8-of-15 (53.3%) shooting while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds and handing out two assists. Classmate Dana Campbell notched 15 points and her clutch play was key to the Raven success in the fourth quarter as she scored nine points and went 3-of-3 from the floor including 1-of-1 from three-point land and 2-of-2 at the foul line.

Sarah Middleton (Barrington, R.I.) tallied 13 points, a game-high seven assists, three rebounds and three steals. Freshman Cameryn Wilson (Newport News, Va.) added 14 points, four steals and junior guard Jemma Thacker (Nairne, South Australia) scored 11 points, snagged six caroms and dished out three helpers.

For the Penmen, Sara Ryan led all scorers with 19 points to go along with six assists and five boards. Teammate Kylie Lorenzen scored 15 points and came up with three steals before fouling out.

As a team, the Ravens recorded their strongest shooting night of the season as they went 29-of-61 (47.5%) from the hardwood and the 76 points scored were also a season-high watermark. FPU also held the advantage in second chance points (13-to-7) and points in the paint (38-to-28). SNHU scored 28 points off 21 Raven turnovers.

The lead changed only three times throughout the contest and the score was tied only once as the home squad led for the majority of the contest (36:47).

Both teams missed six straight shots to open the game before Lorenzen got both teams off the schneid with a driving two. About a minute later, Kelsey Mayo (Oakland, Maine) scored the first points of the contest for the Ravens when she cleaned up her own miss and threw the rock back into the hoop for the second chance points. Trailing by two, 7-5 after a Lorenzen freebie, Ryan put her team up by two when she drained a three-ball to make the score 8-7 in favor of the Penmen. This was the last time SNHU would hold the lead in the game.

FPU notched six in a row as Wilson matched Ryan's trey with one of her own and Campbell converted an old fashioned three-point play to push Pierce ahead by five, 13-8. Two sets of free throws by Ryan and Aaliyah Paxton brought the deficit back to a one point game, but a Mayo jumper and two three's in a row by Thacker and Wilson gave FPU their biggest lead of the quarter, 21-12.

SNHU stopped play with a 30 second timeout and used a 10-2 mini binge to bring the deficit back down to one following a Catherine Stinson three. With eight ticks left, Thacker stole the ball away from Stinson, threw an outlet pass to Middleton who promptly dashed through the paint for two with no time left in the quarter and extended the Ravens lead to three, 25-22.

The second stanza was extremely low scoring compared to the first quarter as the teams combined for 15 total points compared to the 47 scored in the opening period. Paxton poured in a layup at the 7:35 mark which made it a four point game at 30-26. No team could buy a basket over the next five and a half minutes as the score stayed the same until Wilson converted a driving, coast to coast layup with 2:04 left. Deguire then knocked down a jumper and buried a layup to close as half as FPU led by 10, 36-26 at the games midway point.

Two consecutive buckets from Ryan and Lorenzen made it a two possession game only seconds into the third quarter. Franklin Pierce took a quick 30 second timeout and then embarked on a 10-2 scoring run which increased their six point lead to a game-high 13 points after a Mayo and1 and free throw conversion. SHNU began to cut into the lead using an 11-3 run of their own which once again brought the score to two possessions, 48-43. Deguire broke the Ravens three minute scoreless stretch by making a layup off a Middleton feed. Each squads traded points throughout the remainder of the quarter as FPU headed into the fourth up 52-47.

40 seconds into the final quarter, Paxton hit a baseline jumper to make it a three point game at 52-49. The Penmen couldn't get any closer as the game of runs continued for the Ravens as eight straight markers coming from Wilson, Campbell, Campbell again and Deguire pushed the Ravens lead back to double-figures at 60-49. Four straight three-pointers succeeded Deguire's make as Ryan capped off the three-point barrage which once again made it a two possession contest with 5:03 left.

Wilson answered with a driving take through the teeth of the Penmen defense while getting fouled on her way to the rack and the freshman guard willed the rock into the net to increase the Raven lead to seven. Wilson missed the freebie, but Middleton picked her teammate up a possession later by knocking down two shots from the charity stripe to push the FPU advantage to nine with 3:18 left.

Another Molly Terry trey and a Paxton lay-in brought the deficit to four, but Middleton answered with a three-ball off a pick and roll play while the shot clock buzzer sounded to put the hosts ahead by seven with 2:02 left. Both teams traded buckets as the lead remained at five with under a minute to go, but Lorenzen committed an offensive foul which gave the Ravens possession and free throws as they hung on for a seven point victory.

The Ravens wrap up their home slate of games on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. when they welcome NE10 opponent Merrimack to The Fieldhouse.

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).