RINDGE, N.H. – Senior Christine Duffy (South Boston, Mass.) handed out a career-high 16 assists, becoming Southern New Hampshire's all-time leader in that category, but the Penmen fell 67-62 to Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 women's basketball Wednesday night at The Fieldhouse.  The Ravens improved to 15-7 and 12-6 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 17-7 and 12-6 in the league.

Needing just three assists entering the game to break the school record of 546 assists set by Diana Ododari from 1988-93, Duffy's 16 helpers now give her 560 for her career.  Her 16 assists are also the top single-game effort in Division II this season, eclipsing the 15 assists recorded by Duffy January 21 at Adelphi.

Jewel White led Franklin Pierce with 19 points and 10 rebounds, finishing 9-13 from the floor.  Marielle Giroud was 6-10 from the field and recorded 16 points and five assists, while Tiffany Johnson added 12 points on 5-10 shooting.

Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine) paced Southern New Hampshire in the scoring column with 25 points on 12-15 shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds.  She was limited to just 24 minutes due to foul trouble.  Sorrell is now just 32 points shy of 1,000 for her career.  Victoria Wiseman (Montreal, Quebec) was 4-5 overall and finished with 10 points, while Lorreta Rocha (Espargos, Cape Verde) added eight points.

In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, including six times in the second half, and neither team leading by more than seven, Franklin Pierce took the lead for good on a White layup with five minutes to play.  The Ravens held a 63-60 lead with just over two minutes left following another White basket.

Michelle DeRoma (West Roxbury, Mass.) would miss a potential game-tying three with 1:23 left, with Giroud grabbing the rebound.  On the other end, Lekia Cowen's shot was off the mark, with the Penmen getting the team rebound.  Following a timeout, a jumper by Wiseman with 31 seconds on the clock was off the mark, with Amanda Saab corralling the rebound.  The Ravens went 4-4 at the free throw line to secure the victory.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 34-29 at halftime but opened the second half on a 9-4 run, and a three by Brooke Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H.) with 16:27 to go tied the game 38-38.  The Penmen took their first lead of the second half, 43-42, on a Wiseman three with 14:59 to go, and the guests took their largest lead, 49-46, with 12:12 left on a Rocha layup. 

FPU stormed back with seven unanswered points to take a 53-49 lead with 10:40 to play following a basket by White.  The Penmen countered with a 7-2 spurt of their own to reclaim the lead, 56-55, with 5:34 to go on a Rocha basket.

Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 12-5 lead four minutes into the game, but SNHU used an 8-0 run to take a 13-12 lead with 12:28 to go before halftime on a DeRoma basket.  The hosts reclaimed a seven point lead, 24-17, at the 9:50 mark following a Johnson three.  The Penmen tied the game twice down the stretch of the opening frame, but went into halftime down 34-29.

SNHU shot 47.5% for the game while the Ravens shot 46.4%.  Franklin Pierce was 5-16 behind the arc and 10-12 at the free throw line, while the Penmen were just 2-5 at the charity stripe and 2-7 from three-point land.  The Ravens outrebounded Southern New Hampshire 35-30.

Southern New Hampshire entertains No. 7 Bentley University Saturday afternoon in a 1:30 contest.