Fordham Women Defeat Richmond, 70-59

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 15-  Saturday was a day in which the Fordham Rams and the Richmond Spiders played twice. The women competed in an afternoon contest while the men played in the evening. 

After losing their most recent game, 65-61, to Duquesne, for their first home loss of the season on January 8, the Fordham Rams (14-3, 3-1) responded with their 13^th win in the last 14,  a 70-59 victory over the Richmond Spiders (7-10, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Hill Gym.

The game was a see-saw battle during the first 10 minutes. The score was knotted twice and the lead changed hands four times during those early minutes. A basket from beyond the perimeter from Abigail Corning, Fordham’s newest 1,000 point career scorer, began a run of 14 unanswered points by the Rams, who took a 29-16 advantage at 7:11.

Fordham’s excellent shooting from the floor, 58.6 percent in the half, kept the lead at double figures as the half concluded with Fordham ahead by a score of 38-25. The #2 scorer in the Atlantic-10, Erin Rooney, paced the Rams with 11 points and 7 assists.

A seven-point run by the Spiders cut their deficit to single digits, 43-34, at 16:54 of the second half. The Rams followed with nine unanswered points to take the largest lead of the contest, 52-36, with 11:50 remaining in the game. 

Fordham’s double digit lead remained in effect until 90 seconds were left on the clock as a basket by Genevieve Okoro cut the lead to eight, 65-57. The Rams netted five of the final seven points of the contest to ensure their victory, 70-59.

The home basket was very attractive to the Rams during the contest as they achieved a season-high shooting percentage of 61.2 percent (30 of 49). Their usual superior defense kept the Spiders to 38.7 percent (24 of 62). The Rams also moved the ball well as 24 of their 30 baskets followed assists.

Rooney led the scoring with 14. The total was below her usual 20+ because she concentrated on dishing the basketball, reaching 11 assists, for her sixth double-double of the season. 

Three other Rams also reached double figures in scoring, Corning with 12, Samantha Clark with 11 and freshman Danielle Burns who achieved a season and career high of 11 points in only 19 minutes on the court. 

The Rams now hit the road for two games before returning home to the Rose Hill Gym on the afternoon of Saturday, January 25 to host UMass. 

Rams Victorious in Fordham Holiday Classic

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 31- Aficionados of college women’s basketball in the Bronx had an opportunity to attend two doubleheaders shortly before the close of 2013 as the 7^th annual Fordham Holiday Classic was held on the afternoons of December 29 and December 30 at the Rose Hill Gym. As in the previous six years, the invitees included teams from a wide area of the nation and from several conferences. 

In the opening contest on Sunday afternoon, the Fordham Rams easily triumphed over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Spartans, 79-48. The Rams began aggressively by scoring the first eight points. At 11:35, Fordham reached its first double digit lead of the contest, 15-5. They increased their lead at the half to 39-20. 

Mid-way through the second half, Fordham increased its advantage to an insurmountable 67-34. Fordham’s experienced and classy coach, Stephanie Gaitley, gave all the reserves on its bench an opportunity to see action and to ensure that the visiting team from the South was not treated to an even more embarrassing defeat.

Erin Rooney paced the Rams, nearly achieving a triple double with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in only 27 minutes on court. 

The closing game of day #1 was the first meeting between the Harvard Crimson and the Tulsa Hurricanes. The two teams battled competitively on a court foreign to both. Control of the boards, 44 rebounds to 32, and six additional points from the charity stripe gave the 61-57 victory to Harvard.

The consolation contest between Tulsa and UNCG opened the second day of the tourney. The game was hard fought and evenly played by two teams that never previously faced one another. Tulsa led throughout most of the first half, but the Spartans took a 27-26 lead with four minutes left in the half. The Hurricanes followed with 10 unanswered points, and led at the half, 36-32.

After knotting the score at 38 early in the second half, the Spartans remained behind for the remainder of the game. They cut the Tulsa advantage to a single point on four occasions, but could not again equal the Tulsa point total. The Hurricanes won, 76-71.

The title contest of the two-day tourney was between Fordham and Harvard. Interestingly, the two men’s teams of the same universities met in the same Bronx venue two nights earlier. The Rams’ ability from beyond the arc furnished them an advantage during the opening half. Five of Fordham’s first six baskets were from downtown and allowed the Rams to lead, 20-12 at 7:47. A basket and a free throw by Emily Tapio brought Fordham its first double figure advantage of the game, 25-14, at 5:56. 

Fordham never lost the double figure advantage again during the contest. During the final two minutes of the game, Fordham, in the person of Abigail Corning, outscored the Crimson, 6-1, to raise its final score lead to a game high 20 points, 64-44. The win was the 10^th straight for the Rams, equaling a mark last accomplished in the 1978-79 season. They are undefeated at home, 7-0.

Corning had an impressive game for the Rams, grabbing 12 boards, scoring 9 and dishing 6 assists. Rooney led all scorers in the contest with 19.

Corning and Rooney were named to the All-Tournament team along with Janaé Stevenson of UNCG, Mariah Turner of Tulsa and Temi Fagbenle of Harvard. 

The women of Fordham next see action on the evening of January 2 in the Bronx versus Saint Louis. It will be Fordham’s first Atlantic-10 conference game of the season. 

Rams Victorious in Fordham Holiday Classic

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 31- Aficionados of college women’s basketball in the Bronx had an opportunity to attend two doubleheaders shortly before the close of 2013 as the 7^th annual Fordham Holiday Classic was held on the afternoons of December 29 and December 30 at the Rose Hill Gym. As in the previous six years, the invitees included teams from a wide area of the nation and from several conferences. 

In the opening contest on Sunday afternoon, the Fordham Rams easily triumphed over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Spartans, 79-48. The Rams began aggressively by scoring the first eight points. At 11:35, Fordham reached its first double digit lead of the contest, 15-5. They increased their lead at the half to 39-20. 

Mid-way through the second half, Fordham increased its advantage to an insurmountable 67-34. Fordham’s experienced and classy coach, Stephanie Gaitley, gave all the reserves on its bench an opportunity to see action and to ensure that the visiting team from the South was not treated to an even more embarrassing defeat.

Erin Rooney paced the Rams, nearly achieving a triple double with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in only 27 minutes on court. 

The closing game of day #1 was the first meeting between the Harvard Crimson and the Tulsa Hurricanes. The two teams battled competitively on a court foreign to both. Control of the boards, 44 rebounds to 32, and six additional points from the charity stripe gave the 61-57 victory to Harvard.

The consolation contest between Tulsa and UNCG opened the second day of the tourney. The game was hard fought and evenly played by two teams that never previously faced one another. Tulsa led throughout most of the first half, but the Spartans took a 27-26 lead with four minutes left in the half. The Hurricanes followed with 10 unanswered points, and led at the half, 36-32.

After knotting the score at 38 early in the second half, the Spartans remained behind for the remainder of the game. They cut the Tulsa advantage to a single point on four occasions, but could not again equal the Tulsa point total. The Hurricanes won, 76-71.

The title contest of the two-day tourney was between Fordham and Harvard. Interestingly, the two men’s teams of the same universities met in the same Bronx venue two nights earlier. The Rams’ ability from beyond the arc furnished them an advantage during the opening half. Five of Fordham’s first six baskets were from downtown and allowed the Rams to lead, 20-12 at 7:47. A basket and a free throw by Emily Tapio brought Fordham its first double figure advantage of the game, 25-14, at 5:56. 

Fordham never lost the double figure advantage again during the contest. During the final two minutes of the game, Fordham, in the person of Abigail Corning, outscored the Crimson, 6-1, to raise its final score lead to a game high 20 points, 64-44. The win was the 10^th straight for the Rams, equaling a mark last accomplished in the 1978-79 season. They are undefeated at home, 7-0.

Corning had an impressive game for the Rams, grabbing 12 boards, scoring 9 and dishing 6 assists. Rooney led all scorers in the contest with 19.

Corning and Rooney were named to the All-Tournament team along with Janaé Stevenson of UNCG, Mariah Turner of Tulsa and Temi Fagbenle of Harvard. 

The women of Fordham next see action on the evening of January 2 in the Bronx versus Saint Louis. It will be Fordham’s first Atlantic-10 conference game of the season.