Box Score Nov. 20, 2010
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Bronx, N.Y. -
Heading into Saturday's match-up, the Fordham women's basketball team had plenty of history against fellow Jesuit institution Holy Cross, with most of it being in favor of the Crusaders. The Rams shoved that history aside and put forth a masterful team performance, where all 11 Rams found the scoresheet, while holding Holy Cross to just 36 points, as the Rams posted their third straight win with a 67-36 decision at the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham improves its record to 3-1 for the first time in six years, while Holy Cross drops to 1-3. The 31-point margin of victory was also the most in a game for Fordham in six seasons.
"I can't be more proud of our players in this game today because it was such a great team effort. Defense is what wins games, and that's what we emphasize every day in practice, and today, good things came out of that," said head coach Cathy Andruzzi in her postgame comments.
The Rams allowed just 36 points to the Crusaders, marking only the fifth time in the last 15 years, that Fordham has kept an opponent under 40 points. Fordham also caused 20 Holy Cross turnovers, which led to 25 Fordham points.
Neither squad got out to a quick start, as the score was knotted at seven with 13:00 remaining in the first half. Fordham then went into lockdown, outscoring Holy Cross, 21-0, over the next 8:20 to pull out to a 29-7 lead. In that stretch, Fordham's Tiffany Stokes netted seven of her nine points in the game, while Abigail Corning and Arielle Collins both hit three-pointers. Caitlin Shadbolt capped the half with a pair of free throws for Fordham, as the Rams took a 20-point lead into halftime, 33-13.
At the break, Fordham held Holy Cross to just 6-of-25 shooting (24 %), while getting 15 points off 11 Holy Cross turnovers. The Rams also dominated on the boards with a 28-14 edge, which included 14 offensive rebounds. Fordham's Stokes and
Charlotte Stoddart led all scorers with seven points with Stokes adding 10 rebounds.
The second half was more of the same, as Becky Peters hit two three-pointers over the first few minutes of the period to open up a 25-point lead for Fordham.
The Rams stretched the lead to as many as 32, at 59-27, on two free throws by Corning, and eventually got the final 31-point win, following a three-pointer by Ranait Griff with 42 seconds remaining.
For Fordham, all 11 Rams scored, led by Peters, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. Stokes added nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds with Stoddart and Corning also having nine apiece. Shadbolt chipped in eight points with Collins having seven points.
The Fordham women's basketball team will next be in action on Tuesday, November 23rd, when the Rams travel to Teaneck, New Jersey, for a 7:00 PM match-up with the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
Game Notes: Fordham improved to 7-31 all-time against Holy Cross with the win on Saturday... The game snapped a five-game win streak by Holy Cross over Fordham... Fordham is out to its first 3-1 start since the 2004-05 season... Fordham is 2-0 at home for the second straight year... The 31-point win by Fordham was the largest margin of victory since a 41-point win over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in the San Juan Shootout on December 22, 2004... This was the fifth time in the last 15 years that Fordham has held an opponent under 40 points, with the last being the game against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. The others teams were Morgan State (35 - 11/24/02), Dayton (39 - 1/7/01), and Oregon State (32 - 12/17/97)... Fordham has scored at least 60 points in its first four games for the first time, since a five-game streak to open the 2002-02 season.
