WORCESTER, Mass. (November 23, 2021) -- Senior Lisa Sulejmani (Burlington, Vt.) scored 20 points to lead four in double digits on Tuesday night, as the Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team opened the Northeast-10 Conference portion of its season with an 86-69 win on the road at Assumption. The Ravens stormed out of the gates to post a 28-9 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back at Laska Gymnasium.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-2 (1-0 NE10), while Assumption falls to 2-2 (1-1 NE10). The two teams will meet again at Franklin Pierce on Feb. 22 to close out the regular season.

The Ravens came out firing on both sides of the ball, as they put up 28 points while holding Assumption to just nine in a dominant first quarter. Franklin Pierce would go on to lead at the half, 41-23, before pouring in 29 points in a 29-25 third quarter. Assumption posted a five-point edge in the final quarter, but it would not be nearly enough for the Greyhounds to dig out of the hole they had put themselves in.

Franklin Pierce chalked up a 45.9% shooting day on 28-for-61 from the floor and piled up 46 points in the paint on the night. Meanwhile, Assumption shot just 37.9% (25-for-66) and committed 25 costly turnovers, as the Ravens ran up a 31-17 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Sulejmani led all players with 20 points, on 7-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the foul line, and added five assists and six steals to fill out her stat line, though she did eventually foul out of the game as well. She led a Franklin Pierce starting five which saw four of its members finish in double digits. Sophomore Ines Gimenez Monserrat (Mallorca, Spain) -- the reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week -- added 15 points by shooting 6-for-9 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds, to go with two steals. Meanwhile, it was 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and four assists for sophomore Gisela Vazquez Segura (Igualada, Spain), while senior Emma Carter (Bristol, Vt.) added 13 points and four boards.

The Assumption offense sputtered its way through the night, and none of the Greyhounds' starters got into double digits, though sophomore Anna Davis did go for an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double on a 5-for-8 shooting day off the bench. Senior Anna Shaughnessy contributed eight points and nine rebounds, but shot just 3-for-10. Sophomore Amanda Mieczkowski chipped in nine points, while junior Monica Spain grabbed seven rebounds. 

The Ravens are back on the road on Saturday, Nov. 27, as they travel to Queens (N.Y.) for a non-conference contest at 1 p.m.