Senior standout Johannah Leedham added to her already historic week as she dropped in 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 7-of-11 from behind the three-point arc. Twenty-six (26) of those points came in the opening 20 minutes as she made nine of her 10 shots, including 6-of-7 treys. The point total gave her 2,525 for her career as she moved into eighth place in NCAA Division II women’s basketball history for career scoring. She also became just the ninth player in Division II history to top 2,500 points for her career.

Saturday’s scoring output came just days after Leedham dropped in 28 points in a road win at New Haven, which gave her the all-time career scoring record for men’s and women’s basketball in Northeast-10 Conference history.

Leedham capped her day versus SCSU with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

The win for Franklin Pierce was its fourth in as many games since becoming the nation’s top-ranked team back on Jan. 5. The Ravens have won 28 of their last 29 games overall and 20-straight regular season games dating back to the end of last season.

Also of note from Saturday’s win was head coach Steve Hancock earning his 150th career victory on the Ravens bench. Hancock coached the Franklin Pierce women’s program for eight seasons from 1988-96 and compiled a 135-92 record with three trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament and two New England Collegiate Conference championships. Following a brief hiatus from the program, Hancock returned and spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach. He returned to the head coaching seat this season and has guided the top-ranked Ravens to their 15-0 start. Hancock’s 150 wins are the most for a head coach in program history.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday night when it plays host to Assumption at 5:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy FPC Athletics

The game was fast-paced throughout. Minnesota State held a 58-56 advantage at halftime and pushed it to six in the first five minutes of the second half. Franklin Pierce rallied and ultimately went on a 9-0 run in the second half that pushed the Ravens to an 82-74 advantage with 10:57 remaining.

The Mavericks came back with their own spurt, a 10-2 run capped by a Johnson trey with 6:51 to play.

The teams then traded baskets before a Mankato 10-2 run left the Mavericks in control 98-90 with just over a minute remaining. Minnesota State hit 5-7 free throws down the stretch to seal the title.

Jennifer Leedham scored 31 points for Franklin Pierce. Her sister, Johnnah, added 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams were sizzling from the field. Minnesota State-Mankato hit 41-74 (55 percent) while Franklin Pierce converted 37-65 (57 percent). The Mavericks held a 35-28 rebounding advantage.

–Courtesy NCAA.com

For the second year in a row, the Delta State‘s run at a National Championship in women’s basketball was ended one round short of a title shot, falling 58-39 to Franklin Pierce University Wednesday at Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s University.

The Ravens (29-5) out-scored the Lady Statesmen (30-7) 20-10 over the first 13 minutes of the second half, to extend their lead to 49-32, and held Delta State to just seven points over the final seven minutes of the game. The Ravens finished the game shooting 40.4-percent, and were 6-of-23 from three-point range. The Lady Statesmen made just one shot from behind the arc in 11 attempts.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy GoStatesmen.com

Mavericks Roll Past Seawolves to the NCAA Finals

The #4 Minnesota State Mavericks defeated the #2 Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves 83-60 to advance to the NCAA Finals. The win brings MSU’s record to 31-2, while UAA ends its season with a 32-4 record.

The Mavericks set a quick pace early on as they connected on their first six shots from the field to build a 17-6 lead with 13:48 left on the clock. Senior guard Heather Johnson chipped in 10 points during that span, including two shots from beyond the three point line. MSU maintained its double-digit lead throughout most of the second half as it held an 11 point lead at 58-47 with less than nine minutes left in the game. The Seawolves then managed to pull within seven points to Mavericks at 58-51.

The floodgates opened after this as the Mavericks responded with a 9-0 to extend their lead to 67-51 and never looked back as they closed out the game with an 83-60 win. Johnson led all scorers with 25 points, while shooting 5-of-7 from behind the three point line. With her five three point field goals Johnson has tied Kelli Freeman for the most three point field goals made in a career at MSU with 241.

Minnesota State will take on the winner of the #24 Delta State/#14 Franklin Pierce game Friday.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy MSU Athletics

Two area women’s college basketball teams are making noise in regional polls.

Fort Valley State is No. 6 in the NCAA Division II South Region while Georgia College & State is No. 8 in the Southeast Region. Yes, the teams are barely 70 miles apart yet in different regions. Eight teams from each of eight regions make it into the NCAA tournament.

Three other Peach Belt Conference teams are in the Southeast poll: No. 2 Francis Marion, No. 5 USC Aiken and No. 6 Clayton State University.

FVSU has played three of the top five teams in the poll: No. 1 Rollins, No. 2 Delta State and No. 5 West Georgia. The Lady Wildcats lost to them by a total of 17 points.

“The reason we lost those ballgames we lost is know-how,” FVSU head coach Lonnie Bartley said. “We’re just young. We didn’t know how, but it prepared us for the conference.”

GCSU is 3-2 against the non-conference region teams with wins over Valdosta State (75-65), Wingate (63-55) and Newberry (68-42) and losses to top-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne (65-63 and 67-59).

In the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II poll, Clark Atlanta is No. 24 and GCSU is tied for 36th. FVSU, which has lost to No. 11 Rollins, No. 32 Delta State and No. 42 Florida Tech, received no votes.

FULL RANKINGS

USA Today/ESPN Top 25