Box Score Feb. 27, 2013
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BRONX, N.Y. -
Fordham used a stellar first half to push past St. Bonaventure (9-19, 2-11 A-10) in the Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday night. The Rams' 62-50 win gave Fordham (21-7, 11-2 A-10) its 21st victory of the season and put the team in position to lock up a first round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win at Temple on Sunday.
Fordham opened the contest on a tear, outscoring the Bonnies 12-4 by the 16 minute mark of the first half. Erin Rooney connected on two three-pointers and a floater for eight points, while Abigail Corning chipped in the other four.
St. Bonaventure worked its way back into the game quickly though, as CeCe Dixon connected on two consecutive three-pointers, the second of which was accompanied by a foul and converted into a four-point play. Dixon's run made the score 12-11 with 14:31 remaining in the half.
The two teams traded buckets to make the score 14-13 and Fordham went off on another run. Charlotte Stoddarts's layup started an 8-0 streak and back to back threes from Stoddart and Corning capped it, putting Fordham ahead 22-13 with 9:16 on the clock.
After Bonaventure snapped its scoring skid, Corning and Rooney connected again from deep, pushing the run to 14-2 and putting Fordham up 28-15 with 6:41 to go.
St. Bonaventure scored four in a row a few minutes later to cut the lead to single digits at 30-21 with just under five minutes on the clock, but Marah Strickland answered with a three, putting Fordham back up by 12 just inside four minutes.
Fordham continued to hit from deep over the half's remaining minutes, extending its lead to 41-27 at the break.
For the first half, the Rams were outstanding from beyond the arc. Fordham converted nine of its 13 attempts from downtown, good enough for 69 percent. Rooney went 3-5, Strickland made 3-4, Corning made both of her attempts and Stoddart drained her lone try from deep.
Rooney led the way for the Rams in the opening half, tallying 13 points. Corning added 12 and Strickland chipped in nine in the first stanza.
After the break, the Rams had trouble finding the offensive success they had to start off the first half, as St. Bonaventure opened the period on a 14-2 run, narrowing the Fordham lead to two, 43-41, seven minutes into the half.
Strickland finally stopped the bleeding with a 15 footer from the baseline, putting Fordham back ahead by four, 45-41, with 12:30 to go.
St. Bonaventure continued to put up a fight, narrowing the lead back to one, 48-47, after a steal and a layup from Emily Michael with seven and a half minutes left on the clock.
Rooney put Fordham back ahead by three, 50-47, after making both ends of a one-and-one thirty seconds later.
After two scoreless minutes, Arielle Collins put the Rams back ahead by six, draining her first shot of the game from deep and giving Fordham a 53-47 lead.
The Bonnies narrowed the lead back to four, but Strickland came up with a huge three for the Rams, pushing the lead to seven, 56-49, with three and a half minutes to go.
The Fordham defense continued to hold strong and the Rams were lights out from the charity stripe. Corning, Strickland and Collins all sank a pair of tries from the free throw line, and the Bonnies scored only one point over the game's final 4:57.
When the buzzer sounded to end the game, Fordham walked out of the Rose Hill Gym with a 62-50 victory.
Rooney led all scorers with 19 points on the night, despite fouling out with just under five minutes to go.
Corning put up a monster double-double for the Rams, her third of the year. The junior tri-captain netted 15 points on 5-8 shooting and tied a career-high with 14 rebounds.
Strickland also finished in double figures for the Rams, tallying 16 points on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc.
The Rams have one game remaining in the 2012-2013 regular season, as they travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple on Sunday. Game time is set for 2 PM.
