Fordham Falls to No. 13/15 Penn State

Box Score

Reigning Big 10 Player of the Year Maggie Lucas scored a game-high 23 points and Penn State shot 50 percent from three-point range to down Fordham 78-61 at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. on Sunday afternoon.
 
Fordham falls to 1-1 on the year with the loss, while Penn State, the number 13 team in the country as ranked by the Associated Press, improved to 2-0.
 
Erin Rooney led the Rams with 20 points on the afternoon, collecting six rebounds in the process.  Samantha Clark also finished in double figures for the Rams with ten points, while Abigail filled up the stat sheet with ten boards and seven assists.  Perhaps the most impressive performance of the game, Corning, standing at just 5-10, tallied the game-high in rebounds despite Penn State's smallest forward checking in at 6-3.
 
It might be tough to call a 17-point loss a solid defensive effort, but the Rams held the Lady Lions in check compared to Friday night when Penn State exploded for 117 points against St. Francis (Pa.).
 
The Fordham defense did a good job at keeping Penn State's prolific offense off the board early, limiting the Lady Lions to just six points in the game's first four and a half minutes.  With the Rams down 6-2, Clark nailed a three-pointer from the left corner and pulled Fordham within one.  Penn State continued to score, but the long ball kept the Rams in the action, as Missry nailed her first of the day from downtown and made it 11-8 with 14 minutes to go in the opening half.
 
Penn State would open up an 11-2 run over the next three minutes, extending its advantage to 22-10 at the 11 minute mark of the half.  Rooney and Danielle Padovano then connected on consecutive possessions to pull Fordham within eight, but Dara Taylor drained from downtown to end the Fordham run and move Penn State ahead 25-14 with nine and a half minutes to go.
 
Fordham would get as close as seven in the next few minutes, as Alina Gjerkes scored her first collegiate points on a pair of free throws.  The Lady Lions, however, would build their lead back to 15 at 36-21 on a Candice Agee layup with just under two minutes left until the break.
 
But the Rams were not done.  In the closing seconds of the half, Missry connected on a three and Rooney laid one in to beat the buzzer, bringing the Rams back within ten of the number 13 team in the country.
 
Penn State came out on fire to start the second half, outscoring the Rams 12-4 over the first three minutes of the period to take a 48-30 lead. 
 
Fordham would whittle the deficit down to as few as ten with 13 minutes to go after buckets from Rooney and Corning, but Lucas nailed a three-pointer two possessions later to swing momentum back in Penn State's favor.  Lucas' three started an 11-2 run for the Lady Lions, who extended their lead to 19, 63-44, on an Ariel Edwards layup with just over nine minutes left in the half.
 
Penn State continued to build its lead late, pulling ahead by as many as 27 with five minutes to go.
 
Fordham, however, would not quit.  The Rams worked Penn State's lead down to 17 by the game's ending.
 
Fordham will next be in action on Friday night, when they travel to Long Island for a battle against Hofstra.