Manchester, N.H. (February 13) -- Led by a 28-point effort from senior All-American Johannah Leedham (Ellsemere Port, England), the top-ranked Franklin Pierce women's basketball team defeated Saint Anselm by a 69-61 margin on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half and by a 40-27 margin at halftime, Saint Anselm came storming back in the opening minutes of the second half and cut the lead down to five with 15:50 left on a jumper from Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine). The Ravens answered with a 12-2 run over the next 5:36 though to push the lead back to 55-40 with 10:14 left on the clock. Franklin Pierce led by at least 11 points the remainder of the way to come away with the eight-point win and remain perfect on the season.

Epiphany Smith (Springdale, Ark.) led the Hawks with 21 points, including five three-pointers. Sophomore Megan Howard (St. Paul, Minn.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Leedham led the Ravens with 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting and was the one FPU player in double figures.

With the loss, the Hawks fall to 9-15 overall and 6-13 in the Northeast-10, while the Ravens remain unbeaten at 23-0 overall and 19-0 in league play. Saint Anselm returns to action next Wednesday when the Hawks travel to Stonehill for a 5:30 p.m. start.