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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Johannah Leedham scored a game-high 24 points and added seven rebounds on Saturday afternoon to lead No. 23 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce to an 83-64 victory over the No. 10 Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Moore Fieldhouse. Senior forward Rochelle Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.) established a new SCSU record for career blocked shots. With the loss, SCSU falls to 10-4 (6-3 NE-10), while Franklin Pierce improves to 12-1 (7-1 NE-10) with the win.

Johnson, who came into the game tied with Debbie Petrasek, wasted no time making SCSU's career blocks record her own. Just 1:45 into the game, Johnson swatted away a Leedham layup to record the 74th block of her career. Shortly thereafter, the Owls would go on an 11-2 run, including six points from freshman guard Logan Lentz (Chambersburg, Pa.) to take a 22-12 lead with 12:15 to play in the opening half. However, Leedham would score 11 points in the final seven minutes of the half to lead the Ravens on a 21-7 run to take a 45-39 lead into the halftime break.

For SCSU, senior forward Kate Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) led the way with 12 points in the opening stanza. Lentz and Johnson each recorded two rebounds in the first frame, while Johnson collected a game-high five steals in the half.

Leedham led all scorers over the first 20 minutes with 18 points while Jess McPherson led all players with three rebounds for Franklin Pierce. Leedham also dished out a game-best four assists in the first half. Both teams shot 64% from the field in the first half.

The well would dry up for the Owls in the opening part of the second half, as SCSU went a span of seven-and-a-half minutes without a field goal between the 18:32 and 11:00 marks. This enabled Franklin Pierce to put together an 8-0 run featuring four points from Tori Ahrens to increase their lead to 12 at 55-43. The Ravens would then salt the game away with an 11-2 run just after the midway point of the period which featured a pair of three-pointers from Vanessa Power and gave Franklin Pierce a 74-55 lead with 4:43. The Ravens would go on to win by 19, 83-64. SCSU shot just over 23% (9-for-39) from the floor in the second half.

For SCSU, Lynch scored a team-high 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting while senior guard Kaylie Schiavetta (Northport, N.Y.) joined her in double digits with 11 points, including 3-for-6 three-point shooting. Johnson grabbed a team-high five rebounds for the Owls.

Leedham led all scorers as well as four Ravens in double figures with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting and 6-for-6 from the foul line. Also in double digits were Power (15 points), Ahrens (13) and Josie Lidke (11). Ahrens added a game-high 10 rebounds to record the double-double while Leedham grabbed seven rebounds and handed out a game-best five assists.

SCSU shot 25-for-64 (39.1%) from the floor, 8-for-24 (33.3%) from three-point range and 6-for-10 (60.0%) from the free-throw line on the evening.

Franklin Pierce shot 31-for-55 (56.4%) from the field, 6-for-11 (54.5%) from behind the arc and 15-for-21 (71.4%) from the charity stripe.

The Owls return to action on Thursday, Jan. 10 when they continue their three-game homestand and play host to Le Moyne in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Moore Fieldhouse in New Haven.