Dec. 14, 2012

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BRONX, N.Y. - Fordham plays its last game before the Christmas holiday Sunday, hosting the Lady Bears of Morgan State University. Sunday's matchup for the Rams comes after they snapped a three game skid against Southern on Monday night, moving their record to 6-4 on the season.

With the teams playing two different styles of basketball, a key factor will be which team dictates the pace of play. Fordham has focused heavily this season on keeping the other team off the score sheet, allowing only 50.6 points per contest, good enough for 29th in the nation heading into this week. The Lady Bears, although averaging only 61 points per game, have shown that they can score in spurts, eclipsing the 70 point plateau three times this season.

Morgan State has struggled mightily on the road, and the Rams will be hoping that this continues in the Rose Hill Gym. With a loss at Elon on Thursday, the Lady Bears moved to 0-4 on the season as the visiting team and dropped their tenth consecutive road game dating back to last season.

SERIES HISTORY: Sunday's matchup will be the fourth all-time between the Rams and the Lady Bears, with Fordham holding a 2-1 advantage in the series.

The Rams took the first contest in a convincing fashion, stomping Morgan State by an 89-35 margin in the Rose Hill Gym in November of 2002. Fordham also emerged victorious in the second meeting, squeaking out a six point victory over the Lady Bears at home three years later. Fordham's lone loss in the series came in January of 2007, when Morgan State topped the Rams, 60-52, in Baltimore.

SCOUTING MORGAN STATE: Although the season is still relatively young, Fordham and Morgan State have already played two common opponents in their non-conference schedules. While Fordham suffered a disappointing loss to Stony Brook last week, Morgan State bested the Seawolves at home, pulling out a 66-63 win in overtime. In addition, Morgan State dropped a decision in Ithaca to to the Big Red of Cornell, 77-73. Fordham, meanwhile, toppled the Big Red in their second game of the season, beating their Ivy League foe, 58-50.

Bianca Jarrett has been the undisputed focal point of the Lady Bears' offense so far this season. The senior guard from Kenosha, Wis., has averaged 17.1 points through the team's first ten contests, including back-to-back 26 point performances against Coppin State and Cornell.

Tracy Carrington, Jarret's backcourt mate and a Baltimore native, has also averaged double figures in scoring for the Lady Bears so far this season, netting 11.3 points per game. Carrington also leads the team in rebounding

One bright spot for the Lady Bears has been their impeccable free throw shooting. As of the latest NCAA Statiscal Standings released on December 10th, Morgan State ranks third in the nation in that category, converting on 80.6 percent of their tries from the charity stripe.