Photo GalleryBRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team used a 20-0 run over an eight and a half minute stretch spanning both the second and third quarters to cruise to a 67-49 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the opening game of the Ninth Annual Fordham Holiday Classic inside the Rose Hill Gym Tuesday. With the victory, the Rams improve to 5-7 on the season, while the Islanders fall to 3-7 overall.
Fordham never led in the first quarter and trailed by as many as seven over the first 10 minutes to trail 15-10 heading into the second quarter. The Rams then fought back to within one but were down 22-18 when they started their big run, which was triggered by a pair of free throws from sophomore
G'mrice Davis with 4:05 left before halftime.
Senior
Samantha Clark tied the game at 22-22 with her first points of the game, and she gave Fordham the lead for good with a layup with 1:43 left in the half, as the Rams closed out the half on a 10-0 run over the final 4:05.
Davis started the first of 10 unanswered to start the third quarter with a jumper, and junior
Hannah Missry delivered a four-point play when she was fouled when drilling a three from the top of the key, which navigated Fordham in front by a score of 38-22 at the 5:34 mark.
The visitors quickly responded with an 11-3 spurt to climb back to within eight at 41-33, before junior
Danielle Padovano scored on back-to-back buckets to stretch the lead back out to 12. The Rams entered the final quarter leading 45-35.
Fordham was never threatened in the fourth quarter, after outscoring the Islanders, 22-14, while shooting nearly 62 percent to earn the 67-49 victory.
The Rams finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field, including 7-of-16 from three-point range. They also knocked down 16-of-22 free throws and won the battle on the glass, 40-26. Fordham also assisted on 16 of its 22 field goals as well.
The defense limited TAMCC to 34.6 percent (18-of-52), although the Islanders made 8-of-16 from distance while only making 5-of-7 at the free throw line. They also forced the visitors into 18 turnovers.
Missry paced the Rams with 21 points, as she knocked down 6-of-11 from three-point range while grabbing five boards to tie a season high. Clark collected her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds to go along with a team-best four assists. Sophomore
Asnate Fomina chipped in a season-high 10 points as well, and Davis almost recorded a double-double with eight points and eight boards.
Kre'Ana Henry led the Islanders with 10 points, and leading scorer Brittany Mbamalu, who is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation, was limited to just six points and five shot attempts thanks to great defensive pressure.
The Rams return to action Wednesday, Dec. 30 when they play the winner of the New Mexico State-Vanderbilt game at approximately 3:30 p.m. for the championship of the Fordham Holiday Classic.
