Box Score Dec. 9, 2009
Box Score | 
12/9/09 - Highlights vs. Iona
Bronx, N.Y. -
For the second straight week, the Fordham women's basketball team played an all too familiar foe in the Iona College Gaels, a team the Rams had played 40 times and hadn't beaten since 1998. That is until tonight, as the Rams got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Tiffany Stokes in a 70-64 win over the Gaels at the Rose Hill Gym, extending the team's win streak to four games overall and the team's third straight over a MAAC opponent.
The Rams improved to 6-3 on the season, their best mark through nine games since the 2003-04 season, as well as to 4-0 at home for the first time since the 1994-95 season. Iona dropped to 3-5 on the season.
Fordham took advantage of some cold shooting by the Gaels to jump out to a 10-point lead, 13-3, behind six early points from Tiffany Stokes. Iona closed the gap back to three, 17-14, on a three-pointer by Catherine Lutz, but Fordham responded with an 8-0 spurt to go back ahead by 11, 25-14. Stokes again did most of the damage, hitting one basket and making four free throws in that stretch.
The Rams held onto that comfortable lead going into halftime, up 32-23. Fordham held Iona to just 8-for-32 shooting (25.0%) in the first half, while forcing Iona into 14 turnovers. Stokes led all scorers at the half with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Iona would claw their way back into the game in the second half, as Fordham went a bit cold from the field. The Gaels closed within two, 42-40, on a jumper by Milica Paligoric, but Fordham again was there with an answer, getting four straight free throws from
Katie Vican and a lay-up by
Becky Peters to push the lead back to eight, 48-40 with ten minutes remaining.
Over the final ten minutes, the Rams led by as many as ten points, with Iona getting no closer than four, 68-64, on a three-pointer by Thazina Cook. Fordham iced the game with two free throws by Kristina Bell with ten seconds left for the six-point win.
For Fordham, Stokes recorded her second double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, while Peters added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Randall Hurst also chipped in 15 points with Vican adding nine points and four assists.
The Fordham women's basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, December 12th, when they wrap up a three-game homestand against the UNC Greensboro Spartans, beginning at 1:00 PM.
Notes: This was Fordham's first win over Iona since November 24, 1998... The win extended Fordham's win streak to four games, the team's first four-game win streak since the 2003-04 season... Fordham reached the 70-point plateau for the fourth time this season, which is the most since the 2005-06 season, when they did so four times... The Rams tied a season and conference high with 28 free throws made out of 37 attempts (75.7%).
