Nov. 19, 2008

RINDGE - Junior G Johanna Leedham scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Franklin Pierce University edged UMass Lowell, 83-80, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the FPU Fieldhouse.

With the loss, the River Hawks slipped to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's non-conference clash at Bloomfield (2:00). The Ravens improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Conference.

Junior G Megan Berry (Ipswich, MA) led the River Hawks with 19 points and five rebounds while junior F Jen Valente (Prospect, CT) chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.

Junior C Revital Carmon (Bat-Yam, Israel) had 12 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double this season, while junior G Rahshala Valentine (Cincinnati, OH) chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Senior G Jennifer Leedham added 17 points and six assists for Franklin Pierce.

UMass Lowell led 50-47 with 11:20 left to play on a jumper by sophomore G Krissy Little (Concord, NH), but the Ravens used a 14-6 run - fueled by six points from Leedham - to grab a 61-56 lead with 7:43 to play.

Franklin Pierce trailed 76-70 with 1:02 left, but the River Hawks chipped away at and eventually trimmed it to one, 82-81 with 6.4 seconds left, behind two free throws and a layup by Valente as well as a pair of treys by Berry.

Following a pair of free throws by senior G Toby Martin, a desperation trey by Berry at the horn was off the mark.

The Ravens committed 16 turnovers to UMass Lowell's 19, but outscored the River Hawks off miscues, 16-8, negating UMass Lowell's advantages in second half points (12-4) and points in the paint (32-24).

The game featured 15 lead changes and eight ties. UMass Lowell led at the break, 31-27.