Feb. 23, 2011

Box Score | O'Neil: They took it at us

Junior F Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) compiled 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists as Franklin Pierce defeated UMass Lowell, 68-59, Wednesday night in the Northeast-10 Conference regular season finale at the Costello Athletic Center.

The loss was the third straight for UMass Lowell, which slipped to 9-17 overall and 8-14 in the NE-10. The River Hawks, who finish the regular season in 10th place, earned the No. 10 seed for the NE-10 Tournament and visit No. 7 Saint Michael's Sunday (1:00) in the first round.

Franklin Pierce improved to 22-6 overall and 18-4 in the Conference - good for second place - and will bypass the first round of the NE-10 Tournament.

"We played hard, but we're not quite there yet," said UML Head Coach Kathy O'Neil. "Intensity-wise, we've been playing much harder lately. Now we just have to finish. My hat is off to Franklin Pierce because they obviously took it at us."

With a first round victory over Saint Michael's Sunday, UMass Lowell will visit Franklin Pierce in the quarterfinal Tuesday at 7:00. Saint Michael's swept the season series against UMass Lowell, winning 80-64 at the Costello Athletic Center on Nov. 17; and 73-61 on Feb. 3 in Colchester, Vt.

Sophomore Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) led UMass Lowell with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists while sophomore F Sarah Bennett (Newark, Ohio) added 12 points and eight rebounds (five offensive). Senior G Krissy Little (Concord, N.H.), making her final regular season home appearance, chipped in 10 points and three rebounds while shooting 4 for 8 from the field.

"What a fabulous kid," O'Neil said of Little, who was honored prior to tipoff. "She's just a super person. She's a great teammate. She's a good captain. I can't say anything bad about her."

Giroud converted 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range while junior C Jewel White (Worcester, Mass.) added 17 points - 15 in the first half - and 17 rebounds while shooting 6-11 from the floor. Freshman G Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) chipped in 10 points (4-7 field goals).

Franklin Pierce enjoyed advantages from 3-point range (21-12), the free throw line (15-7) as well as the bench (23-4).

Franklin Pierce led 38-26 at the break and opened the second half with an 11-4 run to post a 49-30 cushion with 16:39 left to play in the game. The closest the River Hawks could get the rest of the way was nine points (66-57) with :09 left to play.

In the first half, the Ravens stormed to a 22-11 lead with 8:31 left in the half, but UMass Lowell found its touch and used a 12-0 run - led by five points apiece from Bennett and Simmons - to grab a 23-22 lead with 4:03 left to play.

Franklin Pierce ended the half, however, with a 16-3 spurt en route to a 38-26 lead at the break. White scored eight of her points in the run.

"You can't let a good team do that, especially right after a good run of our own," O'Neil noted.