Box Score Jan. 31, 2009
Box Score
Charlotte, N.C. - In a game that brought the Fordham women's basketball team over 650 miles from the comfortable confines of the Rose Hill Gym, the cheers of the committed Rams fans that made the trek to the Halton Arena were not enough to push Fordham past Charlotte as the 49ers defeated the Rams, 60-38.
The Rams dropped their eighth straight game to fall to 7-14 (0-6 Atlantic 10) as Charlotte extends their winning streak to six games and a 15-6 overall record (6-1 Atlantic 10).
The first half opened up with Charlotte taking a commanding 12-0 lead in the first seven minutes of play. It was not until freshman Becky Peters hit the back end of two free throws that the Rams finally got on the board.
Peters added another three points after draining a free throw to complete a three-point play, but the 49ers used a Shannon McCallum steal to begin 7-0 scoring streak. Senior Annie Zopf quenched the Charlotte fire with a trey from the left side to put Fordham down 21-7 with 6:21 remaining in the half.
The remaining minutes of the half were rather quiet as the Rams were able to add four points to Charlotte's nine to end the first half 30-11 in the 49ers favor.
Fordham could not seem to find the passing lane in the first half, committing 16 first half turnovers to the 49ers seven. Fordham's top scorer, Randall Hurst, also had a tough go at things as she found herself in foul trouble early with three in the first half.
Though Fordham only shot 9% in the half, the Rams did keep Charlotte to 0-9 shooting from beyond the arc while sophomore Tiffany Stokes pulled down five of the 20 Fordham first half rebounds.
The second half started out the much the same as the first, with Charlotte running out of the gate on a 7-0 run. Sophomore Kyara Weekes put an end to the 49ers scoring streak with her first basket of the game. A Hurst layup and two made free throws by Stokes would bring the Rams to within 20 with a score of 37-17 with 11:54 remaining in the match.
The next seven points for Fordham came from the line with freshman Tyonna Willingham leading the way with three of the bonus shots. During that span, Charlotte would post 10 points to stay ahead at 49-24.
The rest of the game would be tightly fought with Fordham leading the scoring 14-11 in the final six minutes of the game. Becky Peters led the scoring drive with six of her 10 points, but in the end, the 49ers would come out on top 60-38.
Comparatively, the Rams matched up rather well with the 49ers in many categories. Fordham shot 72.0% from the line while Charlotte shot 63.0%. Rebounds favored Fordham, 41-36, while the Rams shot much better than Charlotte from three-point range, shooting 20.0% and keeping the 49ers to 7.7%.
The main comparative difference in the game was in turnovers and field goal percentage. Fordham was only able to complete 19.6% of their shots from the field while a season high 28 turnovers turned into 18 Charlotte points.
Peters led the Rams in scoring with 10 points while Tiffany Stokes 11 rebounds ties her season high. Tyonna Willingham records her own season high in points with six as Kyara Weekes added six on the game.
Charlotte's Danielle Burgin led all scorers with 14 points aided by a perfect 6-6 performance from the free throw line. Erin Floyd and Shannon McCallum added 12 each for the 49ers.
Fordham returns to action on February 4th when they take on the Temple Owls at the Rose Hill Gym at a special Wednesday afternoon, 12:00 PM tip-off.
