Box Score Dec. 1, 2012
Box Score
Milwaukee, Wis. -
Looking to top a Big East opponent for the first time since 2005, the Fordham Women's Basketball team fell just short on Saturday night, dropping a 51-48 decision to Marquette in The Al McGuire Center. With the loss, Fordham drops to 5-2 on the year, while the Golden Eagles improve to 4-2.
Marquette came out of the gate firing, scoring the game's first seven points before Charlotte Stoddart put the Rams on the board with a layup at the 16:31 mark. The Golden Eagles didn't slow their attack, but the Fordham offense kept the deficit to a manageable level. Abigail Corning hit back to back jumpers to keep the Rams within six at 15-9 with just over 11 minutes left in the half.
Following a few defensive adjustments, the Rams clipped the Golden Eagles' wings and began to have some success of their own on the offensive end. After struggling from the floor early in the half, an Erin Rooney "and one" and a Marah Strickland long ball narrowed the gap to three, 19-16, with just under four minutes to go until the break.
Sarina Simmons of Marquette netted the half's final four points, and the scoreboard read 23-16 in the Golden Eagles' favor at the intermission.
Overall, the Rams had trouble finding the bottom of the basket in the first half, shooting 21 percent from the floor and converting on only two of the 15 tries from three.
On the first possession of the second half, Strickland nailed a three and the Golden Eagles responded with six unanswered. The Rams then uncorked a little run of their own, narrowing the deficit to two, 29-27, with just under 13 minutes remaining. Rooney and Strickland each scored three points during the run and the Fordham defense held the opposition scoreless for nearly six minutes.
With the Marquette lead down to one possession, Arlesia Moore converted on a three-pointer and Brooklyn Pumroy sank a jumper to push the Golden Eagles' advantage to seven, 34 -27, with 10:54 left in the game.
The two teams traded buckets over the next six minutes and Marquette extended their lead to nine, 47-38, on a Pumroy free throw with 4:34 left on the clock. Then, the Rams put their foot on the gas. Arielle Collins nailed a jumper and assisted on a Rooney bucket while the defense held the Golden Eagles scoreless over the next three minutes.
With the lead down to five and just over a minute left on the clock, Coach Gaitley called a timeout and drew up a stifling press. The Rams forced a turnover and Collins made a slashing layup on the ensuing possession. The deficit at three, the Rams pressed again, this time fouling and putting Pumroy on the line. She made both attempts, pushing the lead to 49-44. After a failed offensive possession, Rooney committed her fifth and final foul, putting Christina Bigica at the stripe. She missed both and Corning sank a transition three, narrowing the lead to 49-47 with 26 ticks left on the clock. Another Fordham foul put Simmons on the line and she made one out of her two tries. With the score at 50-47 and possession in the hands of Fordham, Corning drew a foul and made one of two. Another trip to the line for Marquette yielded a 1-2 result, and Fordham trailed by three, 51-48, with nine seconds left. The Rams pushed the balled down the floor and Corning put up a contested three from the corner as time expired. The shot fell just a touch short, and Marquette emerged with the 51-48 victory.
Strickland led the Rams again on the score sheet Saturday, netting 14 points on 4-10 shooting from downtown and collecting six boards. Rooney scored in double figures for the seventh straight game, registering 11 points and dishing out four assists. Corning also finished in double figures for the Rams, scoring 12 points to go along with a team-high eight boards.
Dictating the pace of play despite never holding the lead, Fordham held the high-flying Golden Eagles offense to 20 points below their season average of 71 points per game.
The Rams return to action this Tuesday, traveling to New Haven to take on Yale at 7:00 PM.
