Box Score Feb. 15, 2012
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Bronx, N.Y. -
Wednesday night's basketball game with Duquesne in the Rose Hill Gym was yet another tight game for the Rams as the outcome wasn't determined until the closing minutes when a pair of free throws by Wumi Agunbiade propelled the Dukes to the 56-50 win.
The night was about much more than the battle on the court. It was also Fordham's `Play4Kay' to honor former North Carolina State Head Coach, Kay Yow, who succumbed to breast cancer in 2009. The team, support staff, and even the officials, honored Yow by wearing something pink. And the fans in attendance were treated to a terrific basketball game that came down to the very end to determine a winner.
The Rams came out of the opening tip very slowly, as they fell behind 7-2 in the first 4:34 of game time, due in large part, to a 1-for-4 shooting line during that time. The lone Fordham basket was a Christina Gaskin jumper at 17:11.
The Fordham offense then came alive as the Rams used a 9-0 run over the next 4:07 to take an 11-7 lead at 12:19. During the scoring outburst, the Rams got five straight points from Becky Peters, a steal and layup from Arielle Collins and a Charlotte Stoddart jumper off of a Peters offensive rebound.
The game was back and forth until the 3:26 mark, as both sides gained and lost the lead several times. With the score tied at 23 at 3:26, Fordham closed out the half with a 5-2 run. Abigail Corning broke the tie with a jumper and Peters followed with a layup, before a Collins foul shot put the Rams up 28-23, their largest lead of the game. But Fordham had to settle for a 28-25 lead at the half.
As in the first half, the Rams opened the second stanza with some cold shooting, missing their first three attempts. However, Fordham snagged a 30-29 lead on a Corning jumper at 13:52, which ended a 6:08 scoring drought. The two teams exchanged the lead and end up tied a total of eight times in the game, the final tie coming with the score knotted at 41 with 5:14 left in regulation.
The final five minutes of action began with a three-point play from Alex Gensler to put the Dukes up 44-41. Fordham countered with an Emily Tapio bucket on its next trip down court and took a 45-44 lead less than a minute later when Collins hit a driving layup at 3:52.
Duquesne scored the next five points to take a 49-45 lead, and Fordham responded with five points of their own to take a 50-49 advantage, getting a jumper from Collins and a three-pointer from Corning.
Fordham wouldn't score over the final 1:55 and the Dukes scored seven straight points to pull away for the 56-50 win.
Collins led the Rams with 14 points and Peters finished with ten. Duquesne's Wumi Agunbiade led all scorers with 15 points.
With the defeat, the Rams fall to 11-15 overall, 2-9 in the Atlantic 10.
Fordham will next be in action on Sunday, February 19, when the team travels to Richmond, Virginia, for a 2:00 PM Atlantic 10 matinee with the Spiders. The Rams will close out their home schedule on Sunday, February 26 against Saint Louis.
Notes: This was just the third time this season (Cleveland State and Navy) where the Rams played only seven players...Fordham led at the half, 28-25 and the team has an 8-4 mark in games where they lead at halftime...Fordham outscored Duquesne 14-8 in second chance points...Becky Peters passed Monica Mack for fourth place in career starts with 104...She also tied Cammie Cass for second place in career steals (188).
