NEW YORK – Pulling away early in the first quarter, Fordham University women's basketball once again saw its defense rise to the occasion the rest of the way, taking an Interborough clash with LIU, 62-43 on Sunday afternoon at the Rose Hill Gym.
In another dominant effort under the basket, the Rams outscored the Sharks 36-12 in the paint, en route to their fourth straight win, and third in the last seven days, as Fordham improved to 6-3 on the year with just two games left to go in non-conference action later this month.
Taylor Donaldson led Maroon and White with 14 points on the afternoon and three steals, while Karissa Antoine finished in double figures for the first time in her collegiate career with 10 points and a team best eight rebounds, along with tallying two blocks. Rose Nelson recorded a pair of rejections as well, while Irene Murua finished with nine points on 4-of-7 shots, and Chae Harris added eight points and a pair of steals.
With 12 Rams seeing action on the day, each found their way onto the statsheet in some regard, with 10 of those players tallying a make from the field Sunday afternoon. Fordham as a team also held the Sharks to the fewest points allowed to any opponent this season with just 43, and held a team below 60 points for the seventh time this season.
In a game that saw the Maroon and White limit LIU to just 28.0% shooting from the field, the Rams broke out to a 9-4 lead in the early stages of the game, limiting the Sharks' scoring throughout, and pushed a 7-0 run late in the first quarter to pull ahead 18-12 after one.
Another low scoring affair in the second period saw the Rams allow just seven points in the frame, and using a quick six points of their own in the final two minutes of the half, pulled ahead 30-19 at the break.
A pair of players dominated the first half for the Rams, as Antoine dropped 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, and Donaldson led the team with 11 points, as the two scored all but nine of Fordham's points in the opening 20 minutes.
Putting together a handful of points out of the gates in the second half, LIU forced a Fordham timeout as it cut the lead back to seven with 6:04 to play in the third. Drilling a three-pointer on the very next possession, Donaldson reestablished a double-digit lead for the Rams, which they held the rest of the way.
The Maroon and White stretched a 17-point lead by the end of the third quarter, their biggest of the night and continued to maintain their advantage into the fourth.
Pulling away with a 20-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Fordham comfortably held on as the final minutes ticked off, earning their fourth consecutive win heading into an extended break before the end of non-conference play.
The Rams will have a 13-day break from action before back-to-back games on Dec. 21-22 at the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational hosted by Cal in Berkeley, Calif. Fordham will take on the host Bears on Day One before battling either Temple or Xavier the following night in the final two games of non-conference play for the Rams.
