Box Score
For the second time in as many games, the Rams erased a substantial second half deficit. Unlike Saturday's come from behind win over La Salle, Fordham's effort fell short on Saturday night, as Duquesne downed the Rams 60-51 in the A.J. Palumbo Center.
The Rams fell to 20-7, 9-5 in the A-10, with the loss while Duquesne improved to 17-10, 9-5 in conference, with the win.
Emily Tapio turned in a fantastic effort for the third straight game, scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing ten boards, good enough for her third consecutive double-double.
Freshman
Hannah Missry continued her stellar rookie campaign, tallying 11 points. Her three triples raised her season total to 72, giving her sole possession of second place on the Fordham single season record list. The Jackson, N.J., native currently sits 21 three-balls shy of the school record of 93 set by Heather Donlon in 1992-1993.
Abigail Corning filled up the stat sheet, registering seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Dukes came out on fire to start the contest, hitting seven of their first 13 attempts from the floor—including three of their first four tries from beyond the arc—and jumping out to an 18-7 lead just under eight minutes into the first half.
The Dukes continued to build their lead over the next few minutes, climbing ahead by as many as 15 when Belma Nurkic connected on a triple to make it 24-9 with ten minutes to go in the period.
The Rams got the lead back down to 11 when Tapio made a layup with 8:19 on the clock, but the Dukes responded. Duquesne strung together five straight to build their lead a game-high 16, 29-13, with 5:21 remaining until the break.
After a timeout from Coach Gaitley, the Rams strung together a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit back to single digits, 31-23, on a Missry three-ball with 2:22 to go.
The two teams traded baskets over the closing minutes and the Dukes entered the locker room with a 33-25.
The Dukes started the second half in a similar fashion to how they started the first, tallying the period's first five points to move ahead by 13, 38-25, two minutes into the action.
Clark and Tapio quickly combined for four points to move the Rams back within single digits, but the Rams struggled to close the gap over the next several minutes. Fordham finally climbed closer just inside the ten minute mark, when Missry's third three-pointer of the game brought the Rams within six, 45-39.
With momentum on her team's side, Nwachukwu made a layup to bring the Rams within four just over a minute later before Tapio made three the old fashioned way to cut the deficit to one, 45-44, with eight minutes to go.
After holding Duquesne scoreless for the next minute, two more points from Tapio capped a 12-0 Fordham run, giving the Rams their first lead of the game at 46-45 with 6:59 on the clock.
Trailing for the first time in the contest, the Dukes rattled off five in a row, moving ahead by four, 50-46, with just under six minutes to go.
The Rams chipped within two on a jumper from Tapio with 4:39 on the clock, but Wumi Agunbiade put the Dukes back up by four two minutes later with a layup through contact.
Fordham got back within three on another Tapio layup with 1:26 to go, but that would be as close as they came to tying the game.
The Rams will be back in action this Wednesday night, hosting A-10 newcomer George Mason at 7 PM.
