Ravens continue hoops journey

KEN MURPHY, Sentinel Staff


An Elite Eight appearance for the Franklin Pierce women's basketball team didn't seem possible as recently as just over two weeks ago.

The Ravens, seeded second in the Northeast-10 Conference tournament, barely edged No. 7 Le Moyne, a .500 team, in the second round and No. 6 Bryant then dismantled Franklin Pierce at the FPU Fieldhouse, outrebounding, outhustling and out-executing the home team.

Yet on the first weekend of spring, the Ravens are the lone team from New England still in the hunt for a national title.

Franklin Pierce, 27-5 and ranked 18th in the final NCAA Division II national poll, faces No. 9 Alaska-Anchorage (29-4) in a national quarterfinal Wednesday at 1 p.m. in a battle between the Northeast and West Regional champions.

The Ravens, like Alaska's Seawolves, advanced by knocking off a previously unbeaten team in the regional final. And, like every other team with a shot at the title, the Ravens have saved their best basketball for last.

"It was a blessing in disguise for us to lose to Bryant," Franklin Pierce Coach Mark Swasey said after his Ravens won the Northeast Regional. "We were very tight in that tournament. We hadn't had a crowd like that since the early '90s, I'd guess, at Franklin Pierce. We got into a situation where our players were afraid to make mistakes. They wanted to be perfect. They didn't want to be the one to lose it, and so we played very tight.

"We looked back and reflected after we lost to Bryant and we realized that that was our mistake. We had to be relaxed and composed and we had to play our game."

Franklin Pierce remedied the problem in the regional, winning their three games by an average of 13.7 points. The Ravens easily downed the two Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference teams - Dominican and Holy Family - and made short work of NE-10 regular-season and tournament champion Stonehill.

Now the tournament-tested Ravens, with Northeast Region most outstanding player Johannah Leedham leading the way, will vie for the program's first Final Four appearance against a Seawolves team, with West Region most outstanding player Kalhie Quinones, also looking to break new ground.

Quinones, a 5-foot-7 senior guard, averages 10.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game for the Seawolves. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference newcomer of the year, a first-year transfer from Division I Utah State, averaged 16.7 points and 4.7 rebounds during the regional, shooting 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from the field.

Leedham, a 5-11 sophomore forward, was named the NE-10 player of the year after averaging 22.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.4 steals for Franklin Pierce. Like Quinones, Leedham performed even better in the regional tournament, averaging 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 4.0 steals. Leedham shot 52 percent (28-of-54) from the field and was 22-of-25 from the free-throw line, establishing the program's single-season scoring record (727) and breaking her own program record for most free throws (166).

Quinones' teammate, 6-2 junior center Rebecca Kielpinski, is a two-time GNAC player of the year. Kielpinski, who shared conference honors this season with Seattle Pacific guard Jackie Hollands, is averaging 12.1 points and 8.8 boards.

Swasey said stopping Kielpinski will be the Ravens' main focus.

"Everything runs through her," he said. "We're going to have to work very hard on not letting her get touches."

One of the challenges a team faces in gearing up for the Elite Eight is in coping with the nine-day layoff between the regional final and the national quarterfinals. Swasey gave his players two days off after Monday's championship game. The Ravens started preparing for the Seawolves on Thursday, giving them four days of practice before boarding flights early Monday for Nebraska.

"I'm glad we had some time off and I think our players are too," Swasey said. "It gives a chance for the novelty of what we accomplished in the regional to wear off. There's enough separation from the emotions we shared to dissipate and now we can get refocused for a new tournament. The time off in that regard has been a good thing."