Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. – Despite a valiant 19 points effort by senior Allyson Smith (East Hampton, Conn.), the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball squad was defeated by Franklin Pierce, 83-63, on Saturday afternoon at FPU Field House. The Owls have now dropped three straight games since their thrilling victory at Assumption College. The team currently has a record of 5-10 overall, 2-8 in Northeast-10 competition. The Ravens have won their last six out of seven games, improving to 9-4, 6-3 in the league with the victory.

Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 21-2 lead over the first 4:54 of play, behind the hot hand of Johannah Leedham. However after a time-out by Coach Brown, the Owls fired back with a 10-0 run of their own, cutting the early deficit to nine.

The two teams exchanged buckets for the next three minutes, when the Ravens exploded for a 19-10 run to close out the first half with a 42-24 lead. Leedham led all scorers with 19 points on 8-10 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds in the first half of action. Sarah Schicher (Vienna, Austria) registered nine points and five rebounds to lead the way for the Owls.

The Owls pressed vigorously in the second half, fighting to cut into the 18 point lead. Regardless of the effort, the Ravens maintained their double-digit lead throughout the period, eventually leading to their ninth win of the season.

Leedham finished with a game-high 33 points and nine rebounds for the Ravens. Smith tallied 19 points on 6-9 shooting, 7-10 from the charity stripe and hauled in six boards for the Owls. In addition, Schicher recorded 15 points and nine rebounds, while Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn.) tacked on another double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Up next for the Owls, the team will travel to Lowell, Mass. on Jan. 14 to face UMass Lowell. Game time for this Northeast-10 Conference match-up is set for 5:30 p.m.