As their games grow, English sisters lead
Franklin Pierce to new heights

By CHRIS BASNETT, Hub Sports Writer


RINDGE, N.H. — So you think you’ve come a long way in the last six years?

The Leedham sisters would like to have a word with you.

Growing up in England, neither Jennifer nor Johannah Leedham even played the game that brought them to the U.S. until about six years ago.

Then they picked up a basketball.

“We started playing for fun,” Jennifer said. “And we turned out to be pretty good at it.”

Now Franklin Pierce University is reaping the benefits of the Leedhams’ athletic decision as the sisters lead the Ravens into their first-ever Elite 8 game Wednesday in Kearney.

Franklin Pierce (27-5) plays the University of Alaska Anchorage at noon in the first game of the Elite 8 Tournament.

“I don’t think a lot of people expected us to be here,” Johannah said. “But it’s what we expected.”

It’s Johannah’s name that most people recognize.

A 5-foot-11 sophomore forward, she is a rising international basketball star and the Northeast-10 Conference’s Player of the Year. A third-team All-American last season, Johannah is looking for her second nomination to the Division II All-American team this year.

Johannah was England’s under-18 Player of the Year in 2006. She’s been featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces In the Crowd section.

In the summer of 2007, she powered Great Britain’s under-20 National Team to a third place finish at the FIBA World Championships in Lithuania, leading the team in pretty much every statistical category.

Johannah started playing basketball when she was 14. Right now she’s 20.

“It’s good (to have been in the spotlight), but at the same time I try not to focus on it,” Johannah said. “I think it’s really important not to get caught up in that stuff. Even though I’ve had success, basketball is a team game and you wouldn’t have that success without your teammates.”

This season she broke Franklin Pierce’s single-season scoring record. Last year she broke the school’s steals mark. She leads the Ravens in scoring at 22.7 points a game. In rebounding at 6.7 rebounds a game. Her 109 steals are among the most in the nation.

And she’s tied with her older sister for the team lead in assists.

Jennifer, a 5-foot-7 guard, was the first Leedham sister Franklin Pierce coach Mark Swasey recruited to the school of just 1,700 students in southern New Hampshire.

She is second to Johannah on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg.), rebounding (4.3 rpg.) and steals (65). As a junior, she’s one of the Ravens’ captains and was a third-team all-conference pick this season. In her first eight games as a freshman at FPU, Jennifer scored in double digits eight times.

Jennifer has international experience of her own, having played for and captained the English Junior National Team.

“They’ve been the key,” Swasey said. “They’ve learned how to settle down in tight games. “They’ve shown their ability to step up when we need a basket; when we need a stop.”

Jennifer started playing basketball when she was 15. Right now she’s 21.

Another Leedham is making a name for herself too. Youngest sister Kirsty is a freshman at Caldwell College and averaged 10 points a game for the Cougars this season.

“It’s so much better to have two sisters who play basketball who are so good at it,” Johannah said. “It’s so much easier to improve when you have two good players to play with.”

Ask Holy Family how good the Leedham sisters are.

The Tigers were unbeaten and the top seed in the Northeast Regional. Their defense was the best in the nation, surrendering just 49 points a game.

Johannah had 31 points and 10 rebounds against Holy Family in the regional final. Jennifer had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Johannah was named the Most Valuable Player at the Northeast Regional.

After rising to the top of youth basketball in England, the sisters came to America to attend prep school Connecticut and test their games at the college level.

Through it all, Jennifer and Johannah have stayed close.

“It’s the best. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Jennifer said. “She’s my best friend and my sister all in one.”