Box Score March 5, 2010
Box Score
Upper Marlboro, Md. -
It was two different games for two different halves in the opening round of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championships as No. 12 Fordham lost 76-62 to No. 5 St. Joseph's on Saturday afternoon at the Show Place Arena.
The Rams (8-22) led for most of the first half until the Lady Hawks (17-13) scored three points at the very end to lead 31-28 at the period break. A four-minute, 15-6 St. Joseph's run, helped the Hawks to a 17-point lead, 66-49, with 6:32 left to play. The 17 points were the largest scoring lead of the game by either team. Fordham answered with five points, but the run was too much for the Rams to overcome as SJU held a steady double-digit lead.
Fordham was led by sophomore guard Becky Peters (Plainsboro, N.J.) with 19 points. Peters shot 8-for-13 and was 3-for-6 from the 3-point arc. The sophomore also tied her career-best in steals with six. Junior forward Caitlin Shadbolt (Coomboona, Australia) also scored in the double-digits with 11 points. Junior guard Kyara Weekes (Cambridge, Mass.) was one point shy of a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds with nine points.
Fordham and St. Joseph's started the game trading baskets and were tied 7-7 four minutes into the game. A good look by Stokes with a pass outside to an awaiting Peters broke up the tie and gave Fordham a 10-7 lead at 14:41. Peters tallied another trey at 13:16, giving Fordham the 13-9 advantage at 13:21.
Hot from the perimeter, rookie guard Arielle Collins (Hamilton, N.J.) hit nothing but net with her own 3-point shot at 12:07 to give Fordham a 16-11 lead. Shadbolt went on 6-0 run to help the Rams take a 22-15 lead as she hit two inside jumpers and a two points at the charity stripe.
St. Joseph's sophomore guard Katie Kuester answered back with nine points off three-straight 3-point shots to tie the score at 24 with 6:31 left in the half.
Weekes broke the Fordham lull making one-of-two free throws to give Fordham a 25-24 advantage with just under six minutes to play.
Over the last five minutes of the half, St. Joseph's and Fordham tallied only four combined field goals. The Rams made just 1-of-4 free throw opportunities as St. Joe's led 31-28 going into halftime, the Hawks' only lead since the 18-minute mark.
Fordham and St. Joseph's had four minutes of fast-paced basketball, as the Rams switched up their play to the inside. A Pump fake drive into the lane by Peters stopped the St. Joseph's scoring run. Peters hit three jump shots in a row to bring the score to 47-39.
Collins and Weekes added to the runs with lay ups of their own to cut the Hawk lead to 51-43 with 10:55 on the clock.
Junior forward Tiffany Stokes (Lynwood, Ill.) scored her career-first three point goal at 16:34 to cut the Hawk lead to 38-33. Becky Peters hit a jumper in front of the basket at 15:32 as St. Joseph's led 39-35. SJU's Ashley Logue sank two-fee throws to extend the Hawks' lead to six, 41-35 with 15:10 remaining.
St. Joseph's opened the second half with a 7-2 run to take a 38-30 lead.
For St. Joseph's, four Lady Hawks scored in the double figures. Senior forward Ashley Logue led the team with 17 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
For Fordham, Saturday's loss marks the final game of the 2009-10 season. This season marked many milestones for the Rams, including fourth-year head coach Cathy Andruzzi's 100th game, the Rams first trip to the Atlantic 10 Championships since 2005-06 and two conference wins, twice as many as two years ago.
