Purcell's late 3-pointer lifts Women's Basketball past Salem State

(Nashua, New Hampshire) With the score tied at 79-79 and with the seconds counting down, Rivier junior Deanna Purcell (Hudson, NH) drilled a three-pointer in front of the Raider bench to give the Women's Basketball team a thrilling 84-79 win over visiting Salem State University this evening inside the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Purcell finished the night with 28 points on 10-of-16 from the floor and 11 rebounds for her first double-double effort since January 11, a span of five games. In the process, Purcell became the University's All-Time Points Leader in Women's Basketball with 1,448 surpassing the 1,439 career points scored by Jari Williams '93.

The Raiders received solid efforts from freshman Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, NH) and senior AJ Guidi (Derry, NH). Butterfield scored 9 points but more importantly pulled down 10 rebounds. Guidi was the spark off the bench as she added 16 points, including three 3-pointers. Seniors Ryan Baker (Whitinsville, Mass.) and Erin Sweeney (Chicopee, Mass.) contributed 9 points each for Rivier.

Salem State got a 20+ point nights from Rachel Carter and Ginny Fleming. Carter was 9-for-20 from the floor for a team high 23 points and collected 8 rebounds while Fleming was 10-for-18 (20 points) and 7 rebounds. Ashley White also added 13 points in the loss for the Vikings.

Rivier improved to 13-3 on the season as they have one more non-conference game this season. Salem State fell to 6-11 overall.

The Raiders will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they host Johnson and Wales University in a 1pm Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Muldoon Gymnasium. Salem State will travel to Bridgewater State for a MASCAC game beginning at 12pm on Saturday.