Women's Basketball at CCSU for Tuesday Night Tilt

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NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (5-4) looks to win back-to-back road contests, as the Rams travel northeast to take on Central Connecticut (4-4) this Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest inside Detrick Gymnasium. A webcast will take place on NECFrontRow.com, while an audio broadcast will take place on WFUVSports.org.

Last Time Out
Senior Emily Tapio poured in a career-high 21 points and sophomore Hannah Missry tied her season high with 17 points, as the Rams hung on to defeat their old Atlantic 10 rival Temple, 71-64, Sunday afternoon inside McGonigle Hall.

The Rams led from the opening tip and jumped out to a 21-12 lead after a Missry three pointer with 7:22 to go in the first half. But Temple fought back with six unanswered points to cut the Fordham lead to 21-19 and force a Rams' 30-second timeout.

Fordham responded out of the timeout and stretched its lead back out to eight, with sophomore Danielle Burns' jumper making it 31-23 at the 1:22 mark, before the Rams went into the locker room leading 31-25.

The visitors shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) over the first 20 minutes and knocked down 5-of-11 from behind the arc while holding Temple to just 29.4 percent (10-of-34) from the field and 3-of-10 from distance.

Fordham came out on fire to start the second half and used a 15-5 run that lasted just a shade under four minutes to take its largest lead of the game, 46-30, as Missry scored eight points during the stretch, including two of her five three-pointers.

The Owls battled back once again and sliced the lead to six at 57-51 with 7:28 left in the game, but the Rams increased the lead back out to 63-51 with six straight free throws from both senior Taryn Durant and Tapio, who made four.

Temple would eventually trim the lead back to six, before graduate student Tiffany Ruffin's old-fashion three-point play extended the lead to 66-57 with 2:52 remaining in the contest.

Over the next 2:27, the Owls made things interesting for the Rams and cut their lead to 67-64 with 25 ticks left after a 7-1 spurt. But it was as close as they would come, as Tapio made her final four free throws to clinch the road victory for Fordham.

The Rams finished the game shooting 41.8 percent (23-of-55) and canned 8-of-17 from three-point range while knocking down a season-best 17 free throws on 21 attempts. Fordham also won the battle on the glass, 40-38, and held Temple to just 33.3 percent (23-of-69) from the floor.

Tapio who scored 15 points in the second half, converted 6-of-11 shots and 9-of-10 free throws and added four rebounds and three steals. Missry knocked down 6-of-10 shots to tie a career best and nailed 5-of-8 from distance to tie a season high. Junior Samantha Clark added 10 points and game highs of eight rebounds and two blocks, while Ruffin chipped in nine points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists.

Central Connecticut
2014 Season: 4-4
When: Tuesday, Dec. 9 - 7 p.m.
Where: New Britain, Conn. (Detrick Gymnasium)
Series History: Series tied 1-1 (since Dec. 22, 2008)
Last Meeting: Nov. 18, 2009 - CCSU 64 Fordham 57 (in New Britain, Conn.)
What You Need To Know: The Blue Devils, who were picked to finish last in the Northeast Conference, are off to a 4-4 start this season but have dropped their last two games after winning three straight. Tuesday's contest will be CCSU's fourth game at home, where they are 1-2, with the lone victory coming in overtime against Vermont. The Blue Devils did win at Hofstra in their season opener, 71-66, the same Pride team the Rams handled, 60-46, on Nov. 21. No one averages double figures in scoring for CCSU, but five players average 8.0 points per game or more along with two others averaging 7.8 points and 6.3 points, respectively. Kayla Miller leads the way with 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Amanda Harrington is the leader on the glass with 6.6 rebounds per game. Kaley Waters, who averages 8.1 points per game, leads the Blue Devils with 32 assists and 17 steals.

Up Next
The Rams return to the Rose Hill Gym this Sunday, Dec. 14 to host Manhattan in the Battle of the Bronx at 2 p.m., before having 15 days off. Fordham then hosts its annual Holiday Classic, Dec. 28-29, with contests against Savannah State and either Princeton or Hartford.