Rams Down George Mason, Improve to 14-1 at Home

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On Saturday night in Pittsburgh, Erin Rooney had the most uncharacteristic of games, scoring just four points against Duquesne.  On Wednesday night in the Bronx, Rooney looked more like her old self, scoring a game-high 24 points and dishing out nine assists to lead Fordham to a 71-52 victory over George Mason.
 
With the win in their home finale, the Rams (21-7, 10-5 A-10) improved to 14-1 inside the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym this season.
 
Emily Tapio continued her stellar play for the Rams, scoring 16 points and grabbing six boards in the win.  Coming into Wednesday's contest, Tapio had registered three consecutive double-doubles, including a career-high 19 points against Duquesne.
 
Samantha Clark pulled down a season-high ten rebounds and added nine points, while Abigail Corning finished with eight points and four assists. 
 
Freshman Hannah Missry, who ranks second on the Fordham single season record list for made three-pointers, connected on two shots from beyond the arc, scoring seven points.
 
With eight three-pointers as a team, the Rams increased their season total to 210, making them the highest scoring team from downtown in Fordham history.
 
The Rams shared the ball particularly well against George Mason, recording 19 points while surrendering only 10 turnovers.
 
George Mason (7-21, 1-14 A-10) got on the board first, but it was all Fordham after that.  Rooney scored four points on a 9-0 Fordham run, putting the Rams ahead by seven with just three and a half minutes gone in the game. 
 
After the Patriots ended the run with a layup, the Rams outscored their opponents 14-4 over the next nine minutes, as Missry pushed the team's advantage to 15, 23-8, on a triple with seven and a half minutes to go in the first half.
 
Mason would cut the Fordham lead to as little as nine with just over three minutes to play, but the Rams closed the half on an absolute tear.  Led by four points from Clark, Coach Gaitley's squad outscored the Patriots 11-0 to close the period, giving the Rams a 38-18 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Rooney led the Rams with 13 points and four assists in the opening half, while Tapio added eight and Corning chipped in six.
 
The Patriots came out ready to start the second half, outscoring Fordham 9-4 in the opening minutes and forcing a timeout just over three minutes into the period.
 
The Rams, however, quickly built their advantage back to where it was at the break, as a Clark three-pointer pushed Fordham ahead by 21, 49-28, with a little over 15 minutes to play.
 
George Mason trimmed the Fordham lead down to as little as 12 over the next several minutes, but that's as close as the Rams would allow the Patriots to come.  Fordham scored eight in a row, building its lead back to 20 with two and a half minutes to play and sealing the victory.
 
The Rams close out the regular season with a critical match up against budding rivals Saint Joe's, squaring off against the Hawks in a rematch of last year's A-10 Championship game on Sunday at 2 PM in Philadelphia.