Ravens Defeated at World University Games
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Great Britain women's basketball defeated by United States,
93-59
Stojkovic and Serbia women's soccer edged by Poland, 2-1
BELGRADE, Serbia (July 2, 2009) - Franklin Pierce University's contingent at the World University Games had a rough go of it as all three were on the losing end of their games on day two of the event in Belgrade, Serbia.
Franklin Pierce women's basketball standouts Jennifer and Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England/Cheshire Academy (Conn.)) and their Great Britain teammates dropped a 93-59 decision to the United States today at the Sumice Sports Center. Rising junior Snezana Stojkovic (Vitojevci, Serbia) and her Serbian teammates were dealt a 2-1 setback to Poland in women's soccer at Stadium YFC Belgrade.
Both Leedhams started for Great Britain against the tournament favorites from the United States. Johannah, a rising senior All-American for the Ravens led Britain with a game-high matching 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, including 1-for-4 from three-point range, while converting all six free-throw attempts to go with a team-best seven rebounds and five assists and two steals in 24 minutes of play.
Jennifer Leedham |
Older sister, Jennifer, a recent Franklin Pierce graduate who was recently named assistant coach for the Ravens, added eight points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, while converting 3-of-4 free-throws to go with a team-best four steals and three assists in 25 minutes.
The US opened a 14-3 lead five minutes into the contest during a 17-0 run that resulted in a 21-3 advantage on its way to a 27-7 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Trailing 49-22 at the half, Great Britain opened the second half with a 14-5 run to close within 18 (54-36), but the rally stopped there as the USA carried a 75-42 bulge into the final stanza. Ohio State's Jantel Lavender led the US with 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.
Great Britain is still in good position to reach the medal tournament with a win in its final game of pool play against France tomorrow at 4 p.m. (EDT). The US posted a 115-30 victory over France yesterday. The medal round opens on Sunday, July 5.
Snezana Stojkovic |
Through two rounds of pool play, Johannah Leedham leads the World University Games in scoring with 22 points per game, is third in free-throw percentage (9-for-9) and fourth in fouls drawn per game (5.0).
Stojkovic, who played eight minutes as a reserve in Serbia's 2-1 win over Canada on Tuesday, did not play in today's match with Poland. Serbia fell behind by two goals when Poland scored twice in a five minutes span just after the hour mark before getting one score back in the 85th minute from Tamara Jovanovic.
Serbia now sits in a four-way deadlock in Group A as all teams have identical 1-1-0 records through two matches. Serbia rounds out pool play on Saturday against China at 4:30 a.m. (EDT). China dropped a 2-1 decision to Canada today, a team Serbia defeated 2-1 to open the tournament. China leads the group on goal difference (+2), with Serbia second over Canada with the head-to-head victory. The top two teams in each group advance to the medal round to begin on Monday, July 6.
Stojkovic is writing a blog for the Franklin Pierce athletics website on her experiences as a member of the host country of this year's World University Games.
