UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Fordham women's basketball team was defeated by Penn State, 75-59, Sunday inside the Bryce Jordan Center in its 2015-16 season opener. With the loss, the Rams fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Lady Lions improve to 2-0 overall.
Three Rams reached double-figures in scoring, with sophomore
G'mrice Davis pacing Fordham with team highs of 15 points and nine rebounds. Senior
Samantha Clark added 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while junior
Danielle Burns chipped in 10 points, a career-high eight rebounds and a career-best two blocks. Sophomore
Asnate Fomina dished out a career-high five assists for the Rams.
Davis tallied the first four points for Fordham, who led 6-0 early on, after shutting out Penn State over the first five minutes and 29 seconds of the first quarter. But the Lady Lions would score 10 of the final 12 points of the stanza to lead 10-8 after the first 10 minutes.
The Rams continued their cold streak in the second quarter, which allowed Penn State to use a 25-4 run to increase its lead out to 25-10 with 4:37 to go before halftime. Fordham was able to creep back before the break, as the Rams entered the locker room down 31-20.
Fordham constructed its best scoring quarter in the third, but the Rams only outscored the Lady Lions by two at 22-20 to trail 51-42 heading into the final 10 minutes, after Burns drilled a left-corner three-pointer at the third-quarter horn.
Twice in the final quarter, Fordham crept back to within five. Junior
Danielle Padovano swished a trey ball from the right wing at the 4:38 mark to trim the deficit to 57-52. Penn State quickly went back in front by 10 to stop the Ram rally.
Fordham was not finished, and Missry, this time, drained a three-pointer to once again make it a five-point contest at 62-57 with 2:42 remaining. However, it was the closest the Rams would come, as Penn State scored the next four en route to finishing the game on a 13-2 run for the 75-59 victory.
Fordham shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field, including 40 percent in the second half. The Rams did not make a single bucket from long distance over the first 20 minutes but sank 5-of-11 in the second half to finish at 26.3 percent (5-of-19). Penn State shot 42 percent (29-of-69) and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc.
One of the biggest differences in the game was turnovers, as the Rams gave the ball up 17 times compared to the Lady Lions' eight miscues, which resulted in a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Penn State also outscored Fordham, 16-2, on the fast break, and 38-26 in the paint. The Lady Lions also edged the Rams on the glass, 41-40.
Brianna Banks led all scorers with 22 points, while Kaliyah Mitchell added 15. Candice Agee chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, and Teniya Paige tallied 11 points and six assists. Peyton Whitted led all players with 11 rebounds and seven assists to go along with nine points.
Fordham returns to action this Wednesday, Nov. 18 when it makes the very short trip to the Riverdale section of the Bronx to take on Manhattan in the "Battle of the Bronx" at 7 p.m.
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