Box Score Nov. 28, 2010
Box Score
Lawrence, Kansas -
On Friday night, the Fordham women's basketball team had an instant classic against Memphis in a one-point loss. On Sunday, Fordham duplicated that effort into another outstanding game against host Kansas at the BTI Tip-Off Classic in Lawrence, Kansas. However, two missed free throws by the Rams in the final 20 seconds would eventually turn into an 81-68 overtime loss to the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse.
The loss drops Fordham's record to 4-4, while Kansas, who is receiving votes for the top 25, improved to 6-0.
The Rams fought back from an 18-point second half deficit to Kansas to set up one of the most dramatic finishes in team history. The epic comeback effort by Fordham saw the Rams behind 45-27 with over 16 minutes remaining.
By the ten-minute mark, Fordham closed the gap to single digits on a 10-1 run, with Kristina Bell and Caitlin Shadbolt each having four points. The Rams then cut the Kansas lead to five, 48-43, on an Ariel Dale layup with 7:37 still to play.
Shadbolt then hit two jumpers over the next couple of minutes to go along with a Tiffany Stokes jumper, which brought Fordham within one, 52-51, with 4:11 left. Stokes then nailed a jumper two minutes later giving Fordham its first lead since the 12:17 mark of the first half at 53-52.
The Rams and Jayhawks then found themselves tied at 55 all, when Bell hit a three-pointer with 1:20 left in regulation time to give Fordham 58-55 edge.
Kansas made two free throws at the other end to make it a one-point game, 58-57, and then fouled Shadbolt to send her to the free throw line for a 1-and-1. Shadbolt hit the first, but missed the second, leaving Fordham up two with 17 seconds left.
Kansas then knotted the game at 59 on a jumper by Monica Engelman with seven seconds on the clock. The Jayhawks' Keena Mays then fouled Fordham's Stokes on the ensuing inbound play, which sent Stokes to the line for a 1-and-1 chance, and fouled Mays out of the game. Stokes though missed the front end free throw off the front iron, which would lead to overtime.
"We should have won this game. We played really hard to fight our way back, and we have to put away those free throws at the end," said head coach
Cathy Andruzzi following the contest.
In overtime, Kansas went to work with their forwards Carolyn Davis and Aishah Sutherland. The two combined for the first seven points of overtime for Kansas, as the Jayhawks led by five, 66-61. A layup by Fordham's Becky Peters pulled the Rams within three, but four straight points by CeCe Harper got the Kansas lead out to seven, which ballooned to 11, 74-63, on a pair of free throws by Davis, a lead the Rams could not overcome.
"Kansas went to their big guns, and it was too much to overcome in overtime. Our kids did a great job, but we easily could have come away with the win during regulation," said Andruzzi.
Fordham finished the game outrebounding the Jayhawks, 42-33, which included 20 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second chance points.
For Fordham, Shadbolt had her second 20-point game of the BTI-Tip-Off Classic and was selected to the All-Tournament team. She netted 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with nine rebounds, while Stokes added 14 points and eight rebounds. Peters chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals with Bell scoring nine points and playing almost the entire 45 minutes. Dale also had her best game as a Ram with six points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Fordham women's basketball team will next be in action on Saturday, December 4th, when the Rams return to the Rose Hill Gym to face the St. Peter's College Peahens at 1:00 PM. It will be Alumni Day, where the Rams welcome back all former players to Rose Hill.
Game Notes: Caitlin Shadbolt was the leading scorer at the BTI Tip-Off Classic, averaging 18.3 ppg, with a pair of 20-point performances... Peters led the tournament with 11 steals... The Rams have outrebounded six of their eight opponents this season... The 20 offensive rebounds by Fordham was a team-high this season... Fordham has scored over 60 points in seven of eight games this season for the first time since the beginning of the 1993-94 season... Fordham is now 0-11 all-time against current Big 12 Conference members.
