Ravens hope for another 'G'day'

By Ken Murphy, Sentinel Staff


RINDGE — There are daily reminders of the differences. Jess McPherson, for example, is astounded every time she leaves campus.

“You go into town, and there are no fences around any of the houses,” said the starting center on the Franklin Pierce women’s basketball team. “Back where I’m from, we have huge fences barricading everything.”

Vanessa Power, the Ravens’ sharpshooter off the bench, can’t wrap her head around the concept that she’s listed at 5-foot-11 in the team program.

“Feet? I have no idea. I’m 179 centimeters,” she said at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse while her teammates limbered up at the start of Tuesday’s practice.

According to legend, the water may even drain differently in their native Australia than in the States, but for Power and McPherson, at least the basketball was recognizable when they came to Franklin Pierce. You still have to score more points than the other team to notch a victory.

And with a significant amount of help from Down Under, the Ravens have done just that. Franklin Pierce (24-5) opens play in the NCAA Division II tournament on Friday at 3 p.m. The Ravens, seeded third in the eight-team Northeast Regional, open against No. 6 Dominican (22-8).

McPherson, a sophomore, has started 27 games this season and is fourth on the team with 3.9 rebounds per game, behind Northeast-10 player of the year Johannah Leedham (6.6), forward Tori Ahrens (4.1) and point guard Jennifer Leedham (4.0).

Power, a junior guard, averages 7.7 points in 16.5 minutes per game. She is third on the team in scoring behind Johannah Leedham (22.2) and Jennifer Leedham (11.0), who each play more than 31 minutes a game.

Power has taken and made the most 3-pointers on the team (56-for-137) for a .409 shooting percentage.

“That’s her role. That’s what she does,” Franklin Pierce Coach Mark Swasey said of his 179-centimeter guard. “She’s the best pure shooter I’ve ever coached. She has quick reflexes and deep range and if her feet are set she can really stretch out defenses.”

Power was 5-for-9 from the field in the Ravens’ two NE-10 tournament games, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

“She’ll hit a shot in crucial moments when we need her to,” senior co-captain Josie Lidke said. “We know she can hit them, and she does hit them. We’ll always make that extra pass to her.”

McPherson also came up big in the NE-10 tournament, matching her career high with a game-high 11 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory over Le Moyne and sharing the team high with four rebounds in the semifinal loss to Bryant.

While defense is clearly McPherson’s strength, Swasey said that his 185-centimeter (6-1) center is coming around offensively in her first year as a starter. McPherson is averaging 5.0 points per game. She averaged 1.5 last season after joining the team midway through the season.

“She’s a real mobile and defensive-minded center, she’s a very good passer and she’s really working on her offensive skills,” Swasey said.

Both players’ arrival at Franklin Pierce can be attributed to a recruiting trip Swasey made to Australia in the summer of 2005.

“I had known from watching some Australian players play at a high level in the States that there was a lot of talent down there,” Swasey said. “I spent a year and a half on the phone and on the Internet to research and build some contacts and I spent half my recruiting budget on that one trip.”

The roughly $3,000 investment has paid off. Swasey said he spent six days in Australia. Part of the trip included taking a puddle jumper to Power’s hometown of Mildura to see her play for her club team. Swasey also met McPherson’s club team coach, although he did not see her play.

“I figured I’d put my eggs in a basket that would pay off,” Swasey said of his global recruiting efforts. “We really felt we needed to change our scope and go to parts of the country and abroad where (players) wouldn’t know the difference between a Bentley and a Franklin Pierce. That philosophy has put us in a position where we’ve been able to have some success.”

Power and McPherson both came here midseason as freshmen. Australians graduate from high school in late fall, when the college semester in America is already well under way. One of the selling points for both players concerning Franklin Pierce was that Swasey was willing to allow them to join the team at midseason, using up a year of eligibility to play half a season. McPherson said most other U.S. colleges she considered wanted her to wait until the following season to start, meaning she would have to wait almost a year after graduating from high school to start college.

For McPherson, playing college basketball in the U.S. was always a goal.

“We were brought up to think if you want to play basketball, go to America,” she said. “I wasn’t looking at this specific area, just America.”

Power was different.

“I wasn’t even thinking of America. It wasn’t an option. I was going to stay here,” she said.

What changed her mind, she said, was that recruiting trip from Swasey, in addition to pressure from her parents. Her father went to college in Chicago.

“I could have played basketball at home but it wouldn’t have been the same,” she said. “My parents wanted me to come here.”

The NCAA tournament run will be McPherson’s final go-round as a Raven. She said she will forfeit her final two years of eligibility to return home, primarily because of the distance.

“I get too homesick,” she said. “Because of the (14 hour) time difference, you don’t get to call home too much.”

When McPherson and Power do call home, they find it hard to explain to friends just what it is the Ravens are out to accomplish as they embark on a quest for a national championship.

“It’s confusing for most people,” Power said. “Last night I was asked (by a friend in Australia) if Dominican was Division I. People don’t really get it.”

Perhaps an NCAA tournament victory or two will make it easier to explain.