Syracuse, N.Y. – (November 16, 2014) – Syracuse's Alexis Peterson scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, as the #24/25 Orange topped the Fordham Rams, 59-42, at the Carrier Dome.
In the first meeting between the two schools since 1980, Fordham's
Emily Tapio got things started for the Rams with the opening basket of the game. Taylor Ford responded with five straight points for Syracuse, as the Orange went on a 9-0 run to take the lead.
The Fordham defense started to exert their authority on the game, holding the Orange without a point for the next six and a half minutes, while two three-pointers by
Alina Gjerkes gave Fordham a 10-9 lead.
The Rams kept the lead at the under-four timeout as
Asnate Fomina hit from long range, while
Danielle Burns converted on a turnover by the Orange, making it a 16-14 game.
After a pair of free throws by
Samantha Clark,
Christina Gaskin made her return to the court, hitting a three-pointer with 1:10 left, giving Fordham a 21-18 edge. Alexis Peterson though was able to hit a pair of buckets in the final minute, giving the Orange a 22-21 halftime lead.
At the start of the second half, Syracuse went on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to nine, 32-23, as Cornelia Fondren had four of those ten points. The Rams cut the deficit to five, 36-31, following a pair of three-pointers by
Britt Zappeij and a lay-up by
G'mrice Davis with 11:29 remaining.
From there, the Rams went cold, scoring just five points over the next eight minutes, as Syracuse built the lead to 19 points, 55-36, which would be enough for the Orange, as they went onto win by a final of 59-42.
Peterson scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting for Syracuse (1-0), while Taylor Ford netted 11 points and six boards.
For Fordham (0-2), Davis just missed her first career double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Gjerkes had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
The Fordham women's basketball team will next be in action on Tuesday, November 18
th, as the Rams host Mount St. Mary's at the Rose Hill Gym, beginning at 7:00 PM.
