LAS VEGAS -- The Fordham women's basketball team concluded the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout Saturday with a 76-54 loss to #23/RV Syracuse inside the South Point Arena. With the loss, the Rams fall to 2-3 on the season, while the Orange improves to 4-1 overall.
Junior
Hannah Missry, sophomore
G'mrice Davis and freshman
Lauren Holden all scored 12 points to lead Fordham. Both Missry and Holden finished a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, and Davis grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
The game was tied at 40-40 with 4:39 left in the third quarter, before Syracuse scored seven in a row to eventually lead 47-42 after 30 minutes of action. The Orange went on to score the first 16 points of the fourth quarter to break the game wide open, leading 63-42.
For the second game in a row, Fordham got off to a very slow start in the first quarter, as the Rams found themselves down 18-7 after 10 minutes of play.
But the second quarter proved to be a turning point for Fordham. Trailing 21-10, sophomore
Aaliyah Jones connected from distance and Holden followed with a trifecta as well, with junior
Danielle Burns scoring to cap an 8-0 spurt, which sliced the deficit to 21-18.
After the Orange went back in front by eight, the Rams used another 8-0 spurt, as back-to-back three's from Holden and Missry deadlocked the game at 26-26 with 1:18 to go before halftime. However, Syracuse drilled two consecutive three's of its own to go into the locker room leading 32-26.
Missry and the Orange's Abby Grant both exchanged a pair of trey balls to start the third quarter, before Davis took over for Fordham. She scored 10 points in the quarter and scored six straight to tie it at 38-38 and one more time at 40-40, before Syracuse took control of the contest.
The biggest difference in the game was the Orange's full-court pressure, as the Rams turned the ball over 31 times compared to 19 for Syracuse, who used a 34-16 advantage in points off turnovers thanks to 17 steals. Fordham was also outscored, 12-2, in second-chance points, despite only being outrebounded, 32-29.
Both sides shot the ball well. The Rams shot a season-best 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from the field, including a season-high 50 percent (10-of-20) from long range. The Orange shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) and knocked down 10-of-21 from three.
Syracuse's Alexis Peterson led all scorers with 25 points while producing game highs of eight assists and five steals. Brittney Sykes added 18 points and three steals, while Brianna Butler chipped in 10 points and five boards.
The Rams return to action Thursday, Dec. 3 when they welcome Delaware inside the Rose Hill Gym for a 7 p.m. matchup.
