Box Score Feb. 6, 2010
Amherst, Mass. - Despite a 16-point, career-best effort from sophomore guard Tyonna Willingham (Cary, N.C.), the Fordham women's basketball team rallied just a little too late as the Massachusetts Minutewomen defeated the Rams, 60-50 in Atlantic 10 action on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
With the loss, the Rams are 8-16 overall, 2-7 in the A-10. The Minutewomen advance to 9-14 overall, 3-5 in the league.
Willingham sparked the Rams, coming off the bench with three minutes to play in the first half, as she broke Fordham's scoring lull with a 3-pointer in the last 1:44. Willingham closed out the period with a long range jumper at the buzzer. Helped by Willingham, the Rams went into halftime down just nine points, 27-18. Willingham led the Rams with five points, shooting 2-for-3 with one steal before the second half, playing just three minutes.
In the second period, the sophomore scored 11 points, one point more than her previous full-game career-high.
Despite the nine-point deficit in the first half, the Rams were outscored by the Minutewomen 22-6 in the beginning of the second period. Fordham came back with a 13-1 four-minute scoring run at the 10-minute mark to cut the deficit in half; but the early UMass lead was too much for the Rams to overcome.
In the first period, the Rams were held scoreless for ten minutes before senior Randall Hurst (West Bloomfield, Mich) got the Rams on the board with a layup dished in by junior guard Kyara Weekes (Cambridge, Mass.), with the Minutewomen leading 8-2. Hurst made one of two free throws on the following possession to cut the lead to five, 8-3.
After a six-point UMass run, the Rams went on a seven-point spurt of their own, sparked by two free throws from junior forward Tiffany Stokes (Lynwood, Ill.), a basket from the perimeter from sophomore guard Becky Peters (Plainsboro, N.J.) and capped by a jumper just outside the paint from junior forward Caitlin Shadbolt (Coomboona, Australia). The Minutewomen led 17-10 with 4:31 left in the period.
The Minutewomen pulled ahead 24-10 before Willingham broke the lull with an outside shot passed out by Weekes. Willingham's basked ignited a late-half push by the Rams as Weekes followed with a 3-pointer of her own, set up by junior guard Kristina Bell (West Bloomfield, Mich.).
In the second half, UMass opened with their 22-6 run. UMass sophomore Kristina Danella (Manalapan, N.J.) scored 12 points in the first twelve minutes of the half, off three 3-pointers and field goal and extra point. With Danella and rookie center Jasmine Watson scoring 17 points, the Minutewomen led 49-24 at 10:28.
The Ram run began at 9:55 with Stokes sinking a layup and extra point for a three-point play, assisted by Bell. The rookies from Jersey took over as freshman Ranait Griff (Summit, N.J.) came off the bench to sink a trey set up by rookie guard Arielle Collins (Hamilton, N.J.) with 8:32 left in the half. Bell took advantage of a missed 3-pointer from Minutewoman Cerie Mosgrove (Needham, Mass.) to take down a rebound for a fast break layup for another Fordham basket. Another missed UMass bucket rebounded by Bell resulted in another fastbreak layup for the Rams, this time rolled in by Collins off long pass from Bell.
The game shifted back into Fordham's favor as the Rams continued to score with a quick 3-pointer by Willingham. A repeat performance of the first half, the Rams scored 10 points in three minutes to bring the score within reach, 49-37 with 5:47 left to play. Massachusetts was held scoreless since the 10-minute mark.
With just under two minutes, the Minutemen led 54-40. Bell completed another three-point for the Rams, shrinking the UMass lead to 11, 54-43. Willingham came up clutch again, sinking one of two free throws and following with a jumper just inside the three-point line to cut the Minutewomen lead to 11, 56-45, with 52 seconds left to play.
Willingham came up with her third 3-pointer of the game with 30 seconds left on the clock, Fordham down, 58-48. Stokes drove in a layup in the waning seconds of play, but the late game push was not enough to overcome UMass's 22 points in the beginning of the second half as the Minutewomen won, 60-50.
Watson led the way for the Minutewomen with 21 points, shooting 9-for-12. Danella recorded 16 points, nine off three-point shots.
For the Rams, Stokes had a second-best team high of nine points, off 3-of-5 shooting and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Stokes also added four steals. Willingham's 16 points came off 6-for-10 shooting, a perfect 3-for-3 from the outside.
Up next, the Fordham Rams will host the Dayton Flyers on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at the Rose Hill Gym. The Rams and Flyers will tip off at 7 p.m.
