2009 NORTHEAST-10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

#1 Franklin Pierce Defeats #3 Bentley to Claim First-Ever
Women’s Basketball Championship

South Easton, Mass. – Franklin Pierce University junior Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) scored 22 points in the second half to help lift the Ravens past Bentley University 93-81 Sunday afternoon to claim the team’s first-ever Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball Championship. Franklin Pierce earned an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament.

Leedham finished with a game-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists in the victory and was named the Championship Most Valuable Player. Joining Leedham on the All-Championship team was teammates Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) and Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.). Gaudet finished with 19 points from 5-of-5 shooting and connecting on 6-of-8 free throw attempts.

Bentley’s Kristy McLean (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) were named to the All-Championship team as well. McLean finished with a team-high 19 points, while Brennan scored 15 after shooting 7-of-13 from the field.

Both teams battled back and forth in the first in which saw two lead changes and a tied score five times. Bentley led by four points midway through the half with a 16-12 advantage as senior Angela Manfredi (Burton, Ohio) shot 6-of-8 from the field for a first-half high of 17 points.

Franklin Pierce would later go on a 13-5 run capped off by a three-point basket by senior Vanessa Power (Mildura, Australia) to give the Ravens a 31-23 advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Power finished with ten points, shooting 3-of-3 from the three-point line. Franklin Pierce entered halftime with a 40-33 advantage.

In the second half, Bentley cut the Franklin Pierce lead to 52-51 as McLean drained a three-point basket at the thirteen-minute mark. However, the Ravens went on a 13-2 run capped off by a Johannah Leedham three-pointer to give Franklin Pierce the first double-digit lead of the game with a 65-53 advantage.

Franklin Pierce led by as much as 14 points after a Toby Martin (Wayne, Maine) three-pointer with less than four minutes to play in regulation. Martin finished the game with 11 points after shooting 5-of-9 from the field.

Bentley did however cut the lead to eight points with less than two minutes to play after Shatasia Kearse (Framingham, Mass.) connected on a jumper in the paint with the score 87-79 in favor of Franklin Pierce.

The Ravens held on though holding the Falcons to only two points in the final 1:58 of regulation to secure the 93-81 victory.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 24-5 overall, while Bentley is now 21-11 on the year. As mentioned Franklin Pierce received the Northeast-10’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament, while Bentley should be a lock to receive an at-large bid later this evening.

The NCAA Division II selection show will be aired on NCAA.com at 9 p.m.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.


2009 Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball All-Championship Team

Kim Brennan – Bentley
Kristy McLean – Bentley
Cynthia Gaudet – Franklin Pierce
Jennifer Leedham – Franklin Pierce
Johannah Leedham – Franklin Pierce
MVP – Johannah Leedham – Franklin Pierce

#1 Franklin Pierce and #3 Bentley to Face Off For
Northeast-10 Championship Title

South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball Championship final is set as #3 Bentley University will face off against #1 Franklin Pierce University 1 p.m. Sunday, March 8 at the Fieldhouse on the campus of Franklin Pierce in Rindge, N.H. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Both teams split their regular season meetings with one another with each winning on the other’s home court. Franklin Pierce defeated Bentley 66-55 in Waltham, while the Falcons handed the Ravens a 70-53 loss in Rindge which turned out to be Franklin Pierce’s only loss in its last 19 games.

Franklin Pierce, the Northeast-10 Regular Season Champions, held American International to just 23-percent shooting from the field and caused nine turnovers in the first half to build a comfortable 27-19 lead heading into halftime. Despite a couple of come-back attempts by the Yellow Jackets, the Ravens were able to hold on for the 55-50 victory and secured the team’s first-ever trip to the Northeast-10 championship final.

Junior Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) led the Ravens with 22 points, while shooting 8-of-15 from the field. Senior guard Jennifer Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) added ten points and a game-high seven assists in the winning effort, while Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland) and Cynthia Gaudet scored nine points each.

Senior Stacy Boisvert (Agawam, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, while teammate Laechia Conley (Urbandale, Iowa) added 11.

The other semifinal game featured #7 the College of Saint Rose and #3 Bentley. The Falcons led as much as 13 points almost midway through the second half but were able to escape a Golden Knights come-back and come through with the 65-63 victory. The win secured a trip to the NE-10 Championship final for a Northeast-10 championship record 21st time for the Falcons.

Bentley was led by sophomore Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) who scored 17 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, while senior Kristy McLean (Staten Island, N.Y.) added 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists.

Saint Rose junior Elizabeth Buckley (East Lyme, Conn.) scored a game-high 26 points off 8of-11 shooting from the three-point range. Her eight made three-pointers tied a Northeast-10 championship record for most made three pointers in a game. The last to complete this feat was Stonehill College’s Michelle Doonan in 1994.

The Northeast-10 championship final will be available for viewing and aired through Pack Network. Fans could access the broadcast by visiting the Northeast-10 website at www.northeast10.org. Once there, fans should click ‘Watch Live’ and will be able to view the games. You could also gain access to the Pack Network by visiting www.packnetwork.com. Pack Network webcasts feature all the elements of traditional TV broadcasts, such as multiple camera angles, replays, commentary and more.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

Franklin Pierce Earns Top Seed in Upcoming Northeast-10
Women’s Basketball Championships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


South Easton, Mass. – The Franklin Pierce University Ravens secured the top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball Championship.

Franklin Pierce, ranked 21st in Division II and first in the East Region, claimed its first ever Northeast-10 Regular Season Title after finishing conference play with an 18-4 record, which also secures home-court advantage throughout the championship.

Stonehilll College (20-7, 15-7 NE-10), last year’s championship winner, received the second seed, followed by Bentley University (19-10, 15-7 NE-10) and American International College (19-11, 14-8 NE-10). The Skyhawks earned the second seed do to their regular season victories over the Falcons. The top four teams earn first-round byes in the championship and will host a quarterfinal game. First Round action begins on Sunday, March 1 with four match ups with the winners moving on to the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, March 3.

First round games include #12 Merrimack College (9-18, 8-14 NE-10) at #5 Pace University (16-10, 13-9 NE-10), #11 University of New Haven (15-12, 10-12, NE-10) at #6 Assumption College (15-12, 13-9 NE-10), #10 Saint Michael’s at #7 the College of Saint Rose (18-9, 13-9 NE-10) and #9 Southern New Hampshire University (17-10, 12-10 NE-10) at #8 Le Moyne College (15-12, 12-10 NE-10). All games are scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. The three-way tie between Assumption, Pace and Saint Rose was sorted through the conference tie-break procedures, while the tie between Le Moyne and Southern New Hampshire was determined by the Dolphins’ regular season victory over the Penmen.

Quarterfinal match-ups will feature the winner of Merrimack/Pace will face #4 American International, the New Haven/Assumption winner will travel to #2 Bentley, the Saint Michael’s/Saint Rose winner will be at #2 Stonehill, while the Southern New Hampshire/Le Moyne winner will travel to #1 Franklin Pierce. All quarterfinal contests are set for 7 p.m.

The semifinal round will take place at the higher seeds on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. The championship final is slated for Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m. at the highest remaining seed.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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