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March 17, 2009

For Immediate Release

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Northeast-10 Player of the Week

Johannah Leedham , Franklin Pierce (Jr., F, Ellesmere Port, England) - Earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the second-straight year in leading Franklin Pierce to its second-straight East Regional Championship. Averaged 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, four steals and two blocked shots during the three-game tournament. Shot 57.6-percent from the field, including 40-percent from three-point range, and converted 91.3-percent free-throw attempts for the weekend. Led all scorers with 24 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and six steals in the regional final victory over third-seeded Stonehill.

Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week

Marielle Giroud, Franklin Pierce (Fr., F, Martigny, Switzerland) - Averaged 6.3 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Shot 56.3-percent from the field for the weekend. Netted a season-high 12 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the regional final victory over 3rd-seeded Stonehill. Chipped in six points (3-4 FGs), four rebounds and three steals in the second round win over 5th-seeded American International. Collected five rebounds, three assists and three steals in opening round win over 8th-seeded Philadelphia.

Weekly Honor Roll:

Stacy Boisvert , American International (Sr., F, Agawam, Mass.) - Averaged 17 points and eight rebounds per game in a 1-1 week at the NCAA tournament. Scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds with three assists in the first round win over Bentley and netted 11 points with eight boards in the second round versus Franklin Pierce.

Laechia Conley, American International (So., G, Urbandale, Iowa) - Scored a career-high 25 points with seven rebounds and three assists in the NCAA tournament win over Bentley.

Shatasia Kearse, Bentley (Fr., F, Framingham, Mass.) - In Bentley’s 71-59 loss to American International in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, contributed nine points, seven rebounds and a steal.

Kristy McLean, Bentley (Sr., G, Staten Island, N.Y.) - In her final game as a Falcon, scored a career-best 27 points and also had seven rebounds, three steals and a block in a 71-59 NCAA tournament loss to American International. Was 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from three and 12-of-13 at the free throw-line.

Toby Martin , Franklin Pierce (Sr., G, Wayne, Maine) - Earned All-Tournament team honors as she helped lead Franklin Pierce to its second-straight East Regional championship. Averaged 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and a steal in the three NCAA Tournament wins. Made 55-percent of her shots from the field, including 41.7-percent from three-point range, and converted all 13 free-throw attempts for the weekend. Canned 4-of-7 three-pointers and made all six free-throw attempts for a season-high 18 points to go with six rebounds in the regional final win over 3rd-seeded Stonehill. Posted 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in the second round win over 5th-seeded American International. Chipped in nine points and four assists in the opening round win over 8th-seeded Philadelphia.

Jennifer Leedham , Franklin Pierce ( Sr. , G , Ellesmere Port, England ) - Earned All-Tournament team honors for the second-straight season in helping lead Franklin Pierce to its second-straight NCAA II East Regional championship. Averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists for the week. Posted 11 points and five assists in Monday's regional final victory over 3rd-seeded Stonehill. Registered ten points, seven assists and five rebounds in Saturday's second round win over 5th-seeded American International. Dished nine assists to go with six rebounds and five points in Friday's opening round win over 8th-seeded Philadelphia.

Vanessa Power, Franklin Pierce (Sr., G, Mildura, Australia) - Helped Franklin Pierce claim its second-straight East Regional championship as she averaged 8.7 points per game, shooting 50-percent (10-for-20) from the field, including 6-for-15 (40%) from three-point range, for the week. Opened the weekend with ten points in win over 8th-seeded Philadelphia. Also netted ten points (4-7 FGs, 2-5 3's) in the second-round win over American International. Made 2-of-3 three-pointers for six points in the regional final win over 3rd-seeded Stonehill.

Ashley Anderson, Saint Rose (Sr., F, Portland, Maine) - Registered her fifth double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 62-58 NCAA Tournament setback to Stonehill. Also dished out four assists and went 4-for-4 from the stripe.

Kelsey Simonds, Stonehill (Jr., F, Middleboro, Mass.) - Helped lead the team to the NCAA Regional Finals by averaging 13 pts, 6.3 rebounds and two blocks over three games. In the Regional Semifinal win over Holy Family. had 14 pts, eight rebounds, three blocks and five assists.

Bethany Tighe, Stonehill (Sr., F, North Easton, Mass.) - Average 17 pts and 8.3 rebounds over three NCAA tournament games this past week leading the team to the regional final. Had 22 points, eight rebounds and two steals in a win over Holy Family in the Regional Semifinals.

Weekly Notes:

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL: AIC's 71-59 win over Bentley in the first round of the NCAA tournament was the first-ever win over the Falcons in an NCAA tournament game and marked the first-ever NCAA victory for second-year head coach Kristen Patterson. It also marked just the second time in program history that the Yellow Jackets defeated Bentley twice in the same season.

BENTLEY: Senior Kristy McLean set a career scoring high of 27 points in her final game in a Bentley uniform, accomplishing the feat in the Falcons’ NCAA Regional game against AIC. McLean was named to both the WBCA and Daktronics All-Region teams. Her 560 points were the fifth most in school history, and her 17.0 scoring average was the second highest ever for a Bentley guard. Sophomore Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) finished the season with 1,195 minutes, the most in Bentley history.

FRANKLIN PIERCE: The Ravens captured their second-straight regional championship and berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight next week in San Antonio, Texas. Franklin Pierce is the tenth-straight NE-10 member to reach the Elite Eight and 20th in 29 years of the Conference's existence. The Ravens are the first team to repeat as East Region champs since Merrimack won back-to-back titles in 2004 and '05. Franklin Pierce has matched its program record for wins in a season (27) set during last year's Elite Eight run. Junior All-American Johannah Leedham was named Most Outstanding Player at the regional for the second-straight year and she was joined on the All-Tournament team from Franklin Pierce by seniors Jennifer Leedham and Toby Martin. Johannah Leedham became the second player in program history and seven in NE-10 history to reach the 2,000-point plateau during Friday's opening round win over Philadelphia. Her 2,051 career points are good for second all-time in program history and fifth in NE-10 history. Leedham also became the first player in program history to net 700 points in a season twice. Her 715 points so far this season are second only to her program record 758 points set last season.