Box Score Feb. 10, 2013
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BRONX, N.Y. -
Despite a late second half run that saw the Rams pull within just two possessions of the number 18 team in the country, Fordham fell short against Dayton in the Rose Hill Gym, dropping a 68-57 decision on Sunday night.
The Rams fell to 16-7 on the year, 6-2 in conference, with the loss. Dayton improved to 21-1, 9-0 in the A-10 with the win.
Marah Strickland led the Rams with 21 points, tying a career-high, while Erin Rooney tallied 18 points and seven rebounds.
Rooney started off the scoring for Fordham, nailing a step-back jumper to put the Rams up 2-0 a minute and a half into the contest. Two straight buckets for the Flyers put Dayton up by two, 4-2, but Strickland drove the lane and laid one off the glass to tie it up at four with 16:25 to go in the first half.
Dayton took the lead again on the next possession, 6-4, but this time it was Abigail Corning on the solo effort, driving hard and laying it in to tie it up at six. Dayton coach Jim Jabir, frustrated, called his first timeout of the game following the Corning bucket with 15:37 left in the first.
The two teams continued trading buckets over the next few minutes, and Dayton took a 12-10 lead into the second media timeout of the half with just under 12 to go.
After Dayton extended the lead to four at 14-10, the Rams fought back. Rooney sank a pair of free throws and Strickland banked one off glass to tie the game at 14 with 9:51 left in the half.
Olivia Applewhite laid one in for Dayton to move ahead 16-14 and Rooney answered immediately. She nailed a baseline jumper and drained a three following a Dayton miss to put the Rams up three, 19-16, with 8:40 left on the clock.
Down three, Dayton rattled off a 7-0 run to pull ahead by four, 23-19, with just over six minutes to go. Arielle Collins, whose hustle was unparalleled in the first half, stopped the bleeding with a three and pulled the Rams within one just over a minute later.
Dayton hit a pair of free throws to go up three, 25-22, but Rooney responded again. The junior guard hit a three and made a transition layup to put the Rams up two, 27-25, with three and a half to go until the intermission.
With Fordham ahead, Dayton went on another run, rattling off eight in a row to pull ahead by six, 33-27, with 51 seconds left in the opening half.
With time winding down in the first half and the ball in Fordham's possession, Strickland launched one from upwards of 25 feet, draining it and pulling the Rams within three at the break, 33-30.
Rooney dominated the first half for the Rams, hitting five of her nine tries from the field for 14 points. Strickland also turned in some huge numbers, netting nine points and dishing out four assists in the opening stanza. Collins stifled the Flyer offense, registering five steals and nearly forcing a handful more in the first half.
Dayton and Fordham traded buckets to start the second half, but the Flyers uncorked a 10-2 run early on, pulling ahead 45-34 with 15:43 to go.
The Flyers continued to extend their lead over the next few minutes, taking a 54-37 advantage with just over ten minutes to go.
With the Rams down 17, Marah Strickland kicked off a stretch of basketball that had to be seen to be believed. In just over two minutes she scored ten points, including a pair of threes, on a 12-0 Fordham run to pull the Rams within five, 54-49, with 7:45 left in the second half.
Dayton bumped the lead back to nine, 58-49, but Collins nailed a three to pull the Rams within six with four and a half to go.
After Dayton scored four in row to go back up ten, Collins hit another long ball to get back within seven, 62-55, with three minutes left. But the Rams never got closer than seven, as Dayton extended its lead and eventually came out with a 68-57 victory.
Collins had a banner night for the Rams, scoring 11 points, dishing out four assists and tying a career-high with six steals.
The Rams will be back in action this Wednesday, hosting the Colonials of George Washington in a noon tilt on Field Trip Day in the Rose Hill Gym.
