Women's Basketball Wins Thriller on Senior Day

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Trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, the Rams pulled out a miraculous win on Senior Day, storming back to defeat La Salle 43-42 in the Rose Hill Gym.
 
With the win, Fordham (20-6, 9-4 A-10) joined St. Bonaventure as the first A-10 schools to reach the 20 win plateau.  These Rams are the seventh in school history to hit 20 wins and the first since the late 1970s to do it in back-to-back years
 
Erin Rooney played magnificently for the Rams on Saturday, scoring a game-high 21 points, including the two free throws that gave her team their final lead late in the second half. 
 
Emily Tapio notched her second straight double-double, tallying 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the victory.
 
The Rams just could not seem to get anything to fall in the early going, missing their opening nine field goal attempts and scoring their first points on a Tapio layup six minutes into the action.
 
Down 7-2 with 12:53 on the clock, the Rams scored four in a row over the next two minutes to pull within one before eventually taking the lead, 10-9, a few minutes later on a Nwachukwu jumper.
 
The two squads traded leads in the ensuing minutes before La Salle uncorked an 8-0 run, grabbing a 19-12 lead and forcing a Fordham timeout with 5:40 left in half number one.
 
La Salle maintained a seven point lead for the rest of the half, heading into the locker with a 24-17 advantage. 
 
Rooney led the Rams with seven points in the first stanza, while Tapio chipped in six points and four rebounds.
 
La Salle extended its lead in the opening minutes of the second half, moving ahead by 11, 31-20, on an Alicia Cropper layup with 14:11 left on the clock.  Rooney then scored four unanswered to pull the Rams within seven, but La Salle quickly built its lead back to double digits, 35-25, near the ten minute mark.
 
With her team down ten, Rooney got the Rams going, scoring the first three points on a 7-0 run that pulled her team with three, 35-32, with 8:20 to go.
 
La Salle would stretch the lead back to as high as six over the next few possessions, but another Rooney layup brought the Rams back within four, 38-34, with 6:21 to play.
 
Both teams went scoreless over the next three and half minutes before La Salle bumped its lead back to six, 40-34, on a pair of Michaya Owens free throws, but Samantha Clark quickly made it a one possession game.  The sophomore from Neptune, N.J.,scored three the old fashioned way, pulling Fordham within three near the two minute mark.
 
A Fordham foul on the ensuing possession sent La Salle to the line, where Alicia Cropper moved the Explorers ahead by five with a pair.  But Rooney came up clutch once again on the next possession, converting on a driving layup to bring the Rams within three, 42-39, with a minute and a half to go.
 
After the Rams got a stop, Tapio went to the line and sank a pair, making it a one-point game with just under a minute on the clock.
 
On the ensuing possession, Danielle Burns came up with a huge steal, giving the Rams the ball and a blank shot clock.  After a Fordham timeout, Rooney drove and drew a foul call, sending her to the line for a pair.  The senior converted on both, putting her team up by one with 12 seconds to go. 
 
Needing one more stop, the Rams' defense came up big, halting the Explorers and sealing the victory.
 
The Rams will enjoy a week off from games, next taking the floor on Saturday against Duquesne in Pittsburgh.