The Purple Knights had their three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the league, while the Ravens, whose ranking was according to last week's USA TODAY ESPN national poll, are 3-0 and 3-0. Franklin Pierce qualified for the past four NCAA Tournaments.

Junior Megan Olsen (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) had 20 points for Saint Michael's, shooting 9-of-11 while dishing out three assists. Senior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) notched 13 points, and junior Nicole Adach (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) recorded 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Alexa Long (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) added seven points, eight boards and three helpers, and the league's blocks leader added to her total with four more rejections.

Senior Jewel White (Worcester, Mass./Doherty Memorial), the NE-10's leader in points and rebounds, had 21 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to go along with 16 rebounds. Classmate Marielle Giroud (Martigny, Switzerland/Saint-Maurice) added nine points and six boards.

Senior Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) hit a three-pointer from the corner with 2:57 remaining to put the Purple Knights on top, 60-59, and a long two from Olsen provided a three-point cushion with 2:16 left. White's lay-up 22 seconds later closed the gap, and Saint Michael's possessed with 18 seconds to go before turning the ball over, leading to junior Tiffany Johnson's (Saint Albans, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) heroics. The local product drove into lane and dropped in the winning bucket from a couple feet away with 1.8 ticks remaining.

The Purple Knights jumped out to an 11-4 lead, with Olsen scoring eight points and dishing off on Quinn's three-pointer from the corner. White scored the final four points during a 6-0 Franklin Pierce run that made it 11-10 by 13:52 of the opening half, but Hennessy's three-point play keyed Saint Michael's going back up by a 16-10 count. The Ravens countered with a 17-4 run, receiving points from six different players.

Olsen scored the final two buckets in a 6-0 run that chipped the Purple Knight deficit to 27-26 at 4:03 and, after the visitors re-established a seven-point edge, Olsen's driving hoop in the waning seconds made it 35-30 at intermission. Saint Michael's outshot Franklin Pierce, 48.0 percent to 43.8 percent, but the Ravens held a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points. Olsen's 14 points at the half led all players.

The Ravens pushed their lead back to seven early in the second stanza but never led by more, and a Hennessy breakaway hoop off an outlet pass from sophomore Cara Deroy (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) put the hosts ahead, 49-48, with 10:41 left in the game. Two Adach free throws provided a three-point edge, but the teams played through four ties and three lead changes in the final 9:32.

Saint Michael's continues a challenging stretch when it heads to No. 2 Bentley University on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. contest. The match-up will be the Purple Knights' lone road game during an eight-contest stretch between Nov. 19 and Jan. 3.