Season Comes to an End for Women's Basketball at St. John's in WNIT

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JAMAICA, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team saw its season come to an end Sunday when it fell to St. John's, 77-63, in second round action of the Women's National Invitational Tournament. The Rams conclude the season at 21-12, while the Red Storm improves to 23-10 and takes on Villanova in the third round.

Senior Emily Tapio led the offense in her final game with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed four boards. Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin, also playing in her final game, added 18 points and team highs in rebounds (7), assists (5) and steals (2). Sophomore Hannah Missry chipped in 11 points, while junior Samantha Clark tallied six boards and three blocks.

Fordham trailed by four early on but scored nine unanswered points, as Missry's three-pointer gave the Rams a 13-9 lead at the 14:27 mark of the first half. But St. John's quickly responded with 11 of the next 13 points to grab the lead for good at 20-15 with 11:59 to go before halftime.

Fordham hung around and trimmed the lead to 24-23 after a Clark basket, but the Red Storm eventually stretched their lead out to nine before going into the locker room leading 38-32.

The Rams scored four quick points on their first two possessions after the half to crawl back to within two, before St. John's increased its lead back to six. Fordham then fought to within three twice, with the last time coming at 49-46 on freshman Asnate Fomina's trifecta with 12:22 to go.

The Red Strom took control and led between six and eight points, before taking their first double-digit lead (65-55) and never looking back with 6:36 remaining.

Fordham shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field while making 4-of-11 from distance and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. St. John's shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) and converted 13-of-17 free throws. The Rams also lost the turnover battle, 16-10, and rebounding battle, 35-32. The Red Storm used their size to outscore Fordham in the paint, 38-22, and also held a 14-2 advantage on fast-break points.

Aliyyah Handford, who scored 19 points in the first half, led all scorers with 23 point and added 10 rebounds and four assists to collect a double-double. Jade Walker added 17 points, and Danaejah Grant chipped in 16 points and four boards. Amber Thompson tallied 12 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and four steals, while Aaliyah Lewis dished out eight assists and added six points.

Seniors Taryn Durant and Liz Milner also saw their final action as Rams. Durant scored two points, grabbed one board and recorded an assist, while Milner missed her final two seasons with an injury.

Fordham returns nine student-athletes to its roster for the 2015-16 season.