Box Score Jan. 20, 2009
Box Score
Kingston, R.I. - The Fordham Rams lost another tough battle to the University of Rhode Island as Randall Hurst recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the 49-46 loss.
Fordham drops to 7-12 (0-4 Atlantic 10) as Rhode Island improves to 8-10 (1-2 Atlantic 10).
Things got underway at the Ryan Center with Fordham taking an early 8-6 lead as junior Randall Hurst hit six of her 13 first-half points in the first six minutes of play. In that span, four of Rhode Island's six points came off of free throws.
Fordham extended that lead with a 14-10 score when Becky Peters hit a three-pointer from the corner and nabbed a mid-court steal and completed the transition at the other end with a layup.
That four-point lead would be cut down as Rhode Island made it a one point game in Fordham's favor, 19-18, with 7:38 remaining in the first half. After exchanging baskets, Kyara Weekes made her presence known on the court, draining two straight treys to set up a 10-0 run for Fordham and ultimately leading to their largest lead of the half, 20-29.
Rhode Island would not go down without a fight, returning the Fordham run with a 10-2 run of their own to cut the Fordham lead to 31-28 entering halftime.
In recent games, Fordham has been plagued by turnovers, and though they gave the ball away ten times in the first half, they converted ten Rhode Island turnovers into 14 of their 31 first-half points. Fordham also kept Rhode Island to 29.2% shooting from the field while converting 55% of their shots into points in the first half.
Things were relatively quiet on the hardwood for the first few minutes of play until Rhode Island's Sierra Cooper knocked a layup to end the second-half scoring drought. Peters responded with a basket to bring Fordham back in the lead, 33-32 with 15:30 to play.
At this point, each team played evenly on both sides of the ball, resulting in a 43-42 score at the 7:45 mark in favor of Fordham. Peters would then hit a jumper for her 13th point of the game and would be responded by a Sierra Cooper basket, resulting in Fordham retaining a one point, 45-44 lead with 3:56 remaining.
Fouls would play a factor in the game from here on out, as Lindsay Harris connected on one of two one-and-one shots to tie the score, 45-45. Rhode Island then took the lead as Cooper would connect on a jumper, but would then commit her fifth person foul, resulting in Becky Peters bringing Fordham back to within one by hitting on one of two from the line.
With Rhode Island leading 47-46, Tanja Licina knocked down two of her 16 points make it a 49-46 game with 1:07 left on the clock. Rhode Island worked the clock, leaving Fordham with 20.6 seconds to attempt a game-tying basket. That responsibility fell on the shoulders of Annie Zopf, whose three pointer fell just short and ultimately ending the game.
Randall Hurst headed the Fordham offense with her second straight double-double, scoring 18 and grabbing 10 boards. Becky Peters added 14 points while Kyara Weekes chipped in six.
Rhode Island's Lincina Tanja led Rhode Island with 16 points as Sierra Cooper added 12.
The Fordham women's basketball team returns to Rose Hill on Saturday, January 24, to take on the La Salle Explorers. Tip off is 1:00 PM.
