NEW HAVEN, Conn. (2/24/23) - The twelfth-seeded Franklin Pierce women's basketball team stunned fifth-seeded University of New Haven in the first round of the NE10 Championship tournament on Friday evening, defeating the Chargers by a score of 57-49.  

The upset victory propels women's hoops into the second round of the NE10 tournament, claiming their 4^th win against NE-10 opponents this season to move to 9-19 (4-16 NE10) overall. New Haven's season ends following the loss, as they finished their regular season 17-10 (12-8 NE10) overall.

During the first half, the game was even between both teams. The Ravens and the Chargers each secured 38.5% of their shots from the field after the first quarter, with New Haven leading 19-11 after the first ten minutes. During the second quarter, Franklin Pierce struggled offensively, shooting 15% of their shots in the second quarter while New Haven shot 26.7% from the field. The Chargers would lead the Ravens 29-20 at the half. Junior forward Ines Gimenez Monserrat (Mallorca, Spain) led the Ravens in scoring through the first half, scoring seven points. Junior Anna Badosa Soler (Girona, Spain) also contributed to the scoring with five points, while freshman Kenzie Sirowich (Seymour, Conn.) scored four.

In the second half, the Ravens took control scoring 37 points through the final 20-minutes of play. Of those points, 25 came during the fourth quarter, where the Ravens would take their first lead of the evening with 7:43 left in the game. The Chargers would briefly take the lead back not too soon after, but would continuously run into a Ravens rebuttal. After officially seizing back the lead with seven minutes left, Franklin Pierce would never looked back from that point on.  

Freshman Kenzie Sirowich recorded a team season-best in rebounds in the effort, hauling in 17 total boards along with 12 points scored for the double-double performance. Junior Ines Gimenenz Monserrat finished the evening with a team-leading 24 points from the field, additionally logging six rebounds, while Ana Badosa Soler would collect 15 points, five boards, three assists and two steals. From the opening tip, the Ravens shot 19-of-54 (35.2%) from the floor, and outscored the Chargers in the paint by a 26-18 margin.

The Ravens advance to the second round where they will face the No. 4 seed, as well as defending champion, Bentley University , with the action taking place in Waltham, Massachusetts on Sunday, February 26^th at 1:30 p.m.