Women's Basketball Stays Hot With 60-51 Victory Over VCU

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BRONX, N.Y. -- For the first time in program history, the Fordham women's basketball team is 5-0 in Atlantic 10 play, as the Rams fought off VCU, 60-51, Sunday afternoon inside the Rose Hill Gym. With the victory, Fordham increases its win streak to a season-high five games and improves to 13-5 (5-0 A10) on the season, while VCU falls to 12-6 (3-2 A10) overall.

Both teams entered the key conference matchup as one of the top defensive teams in the league in the "Battle of the Rams". Fordham led almost the entire way and took the lead for good, 5-2, at the 17:32 mark of the first half when sophomore Hannah Missry connected on the first of her five three-pointers in the contest.
 

Leading 10-8, the Rams scored eight unanswered, with junior Samantha Clark scoring the first four and freshman G'mrice Davis providing the final four points, which increased the advantage to 18-8 nearly halfway through the first half.

Clark provided the Rams their third there-point lead of the stanza with a bomb from long distance for a 22-12 lead, before VCU scored six of the final 11 points over the last 2:06 to trim Fordham's lead to 27-18 at the break.

The Rams shot a respectable 41.7 percent (10-of-24) over the first 20 minutes and made 3-of-10 from behind the arc while sinking 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. The defense held VCU to 34.6 percent (9-of-26), including 0-of-7 from three, and limited the Rams to zero free throw attempts.

After halftime, Fordham took control over the first 8:33 with an 18-8 spurt where they made 7-of-14 shots (3-of-7 from three) and held VCU to just 3-of-11 and forced three turnovers. Senior Taryn Durant's jumper in the paint gave the Rams their largest lead of the game, 42-26.

Fordham, however, would go scoreless over the next five minutes, as VCU sliced the lead to 43-37 after an 11-1 run. But Missry stopped the bleeding with a big trey ball with 7:08 to go, and sophomore Danielle Burns followed with a steal and a layup. Missry then nailed her fifth three-pointer of the day to cap the string of eight unanswered points, which stretched the lead back out to 14 at 51-37 with 5:28 left in the game.

The home team then inched the lead to 15 two more times and cruised to the 60-51 victory.

Each side shot better in the second half. Fordham connected at  a 46.2 percent (12-of-26) clip to finish the game shooting 44.0 percent (22-of-50) and swished 7-of-19 three's (36.8 percent) against one of the top three-point defenses in the nation. VCU made 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from the field to finish the game at 40.4 percent (23-of-57) and 3-of-12 from distance. The visitors also struggled at the free throw line (2-of-8)

The two Ram squads combined for 33 turnovers, with 16 committed by Fordham, and both registered eight steals. Fordham also lost the rebounding battle for just the fifth time this season, as VCU held a 38-31 advantage.

Clark had a big game for the Rams, scoring a game-high 18 points, including 13 in the first half. She made 7-of-13 from the field and drilled 2-of-5 from distance while narrowly missing a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds to go along with two blocks in 39 minutes. Missry added 17 points, with 11 coming after the break, and shot 6-of-10, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc to tie a season high. Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin and senior Emily Tapio both had six assists and two steals, while Tapio tied a career high in blocks with three.

Ashley Pegram paced VCU with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists and knocked down 8-of-13 from the field. Melanie Royster corralled a game-high 11 rebounds for the Rams.

Fordham looks to increase its win streak to six games this Wednesday, Jan. 21 when it concludes the three-game conference homestand with Massachusetts. Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m. for the annual Kids Day, as nearly 2,000 students from local schools will pack the Rose Hill Gym.