Massachusetts 71, Fordham 62

The Fordham Rams dropped their Atlantic 10 opener last Saturday at the Rose Hill Gym, a 71-62 defeat at the hands of the Massachusetts Minutewomen. After a back and forth first half, the Rams entered halftime down by two. After tying the game at 36-36 to start the second half, Massachusetts would go on an 8-0 run to take a 44-36 lead. Fordham trailed the rest of the way as the Minutewomen evened their record at 8-8.

Becky Peters turned in another strong performance, leading the Rams with 15 points while grabbing six rebounds. Tiffany Stokes and Randall Hurst added 11 points apiece. Alex Zamora had a team-high nine rebounds and Kristina Bell had five assists and five rebounds.

St. Louis 64, Fordham 48

Three St. Louis Billikens reached double figures in points as the Rams dropped their second game in a row to open conference play, a 64-48 defeat Monday night in a nationally televised game by CBS College Sports. Fordham dropped to 7-10 with the loss.

St. Louis went on a 10-0 run in the first half to open a 16-6 lead. The Rams fought back to cut the lead to 35-31 at the half. Eleven first half turnovers by the Rams led to 12 points for St. Louis.

In the second half, Fordham managed to cut the Billikens lead to two at 40-38, but then watched as St. Louis went on a 15-6 run to take command of the game.

Kyara Weekes led Fordham with 12 points and seven rebounds. Becky Peters scored 11 points and grabbed six boards. 

Up Next

Fordham hosts George Washington Saturday afternoon at 1:00 at the Rose Hill Gym. The game can be heard live on WFUV.org.

Last year, the Fordham women’s basketball team made headlines for a reason they’d all like to forget: an 0-29 season. An article last winter in The New York Times and an editorial in the Daily News highlighted the team’s troubles, but also paid tribute to a group that showed resiliency and character while battling through the worst season in the program’s history. This year, the Rams are back in those same newspapers, but this time the headlines are more to their liking. Two recent articles underscore the improvement, not just in terms of coverage and perception, but most importantly with regard to the team’s record. The links below will take you to articles from The New York Times and the Daily News chronicling the team’s turnaround:

After Losing 35 in a Row, Fordham Women are 7-8  (NY Times, 1/10/09)

Fordham hoops flirting with .500 one season after finishing 0-29 (NY Daily News, 1/13/09)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

When the doors to the Rose Hill Gym opened today, it felt the way college basketball is supposed to feel.

For starters, the Rams were hosting their own holiday tournament for the second year in a row. Only this year, they were playing in the championship game. And, with a new roster, higher hopes, and yes, some wins under their belt, Fordham entered this afternoon’s contest with Bryant University poised and determined to capture the tournament title.

That they did so with a 70-51 win over the Bulldogs in front of 773 at the Rose Hill Gym is one thing. That they won their seventh game of the season is an even bigger story. After going 0-29 one year ago, the Rams are now 7-6, with games against Lehigh and Navy upcoming before conference play begins January 10. While critics point to what they say is a weak non-conference schedule, the fact remains that a year ago, Fordham was not winning these games.

“We’re 7 and 6 and we’ve won three in a row. That has a lot to say about where our team is. And we won a championship,” head coach Cathy Andruzzi said after today’s win. “What a great turnaround for them but we have a long way to go. We’re not where we need to be right now because we have high expectations and that’s something we put on ourselves. These kids work really hard and we’re still a very young team. I only have a couple kids here from last year. We’re growing. We’re getting better and better. These games, by coming back and winning by a decisive edge, are very important for us.”

Beset by foul trouble all afternoon, Fordham overcame a 14-0 first half run by the Bulldogs to take a 34-28 halftime lead, then dominated play in the second half en route to the blowout win. But it wasn’t easy.

After jumping out to a 9-3 lead, the Rams had trouble overcoming the foul trouble that resulted in Randall Hurst and Kristina Bell heading to the bench early in the game. After the Bulldogs went on their run to take a 22-11 lead, Fordham got hot. They closed the half on a 23-6 run, fueled by the play of Annie Zopf and Tiffany Stokes. Zopf hit four 3-pointers in the half and finished the game with 17 points. Afterward, she was named to the All-Tournament Team. Meanwhile Stokes put on a show on both ends of the floor. Down 23-19, Stokes scored five points in a row off two consecutive steals and layups (and one free throw) that put the Rams ahead 24-23. Though the Bulldogs eventually tied the game at 27-27, Fordham would not trail the rest of the way.

“Bryant’s a very good team,” Andruzzi said. “The way our girls played, by being down and coming back, just showed a lot of resilience on their part. I’m very proud of the way our girls played today.”

With Hurst on the bench for most of the second half after picking up her fourth foul, Fordham would dominate the game’s final 20 minutes, controlling the tempo on offense and consistently building on their lead with patience and timely scoring, and by forcing turnovers on the defensive end. Freshman Becky Peters emerged as a dynamic offensive force for the Rams, scoring 16 of her game-high 24 points in the second half. She also had 11 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double. With today’s performance, combined with her 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win yesterday over Norfolk State, Peters was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Meanwhile, a new star has emerged for the Rams.

“Becky is the kind of player that we’ve been recruiting,” Andruzzi said. “Becky is a tough kid. She has great intensity, she has great focus, and she works really hard.”

With conference play on the horizon, Fordham has little time to celebrate. On the flip side, one would understand the Rams taking a minute to reflect on how far they’ve come.

“I think we’ve played some really good teams and it’s really important to get some wins under our belt,” Andruzzi said about the importance of winning non-conference games. “We’ve come such a long way.”

Fordham University announced today that junior Randall Hurst and freshman Becky Peters received Atlantic 10 Conference weekly honors. Hurst was named Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week, while Peters was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week.

Hurst averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Rams in wins over Central Connecticut State and Norfolk State. Heading into today’s contest with Bryant, Hurst is Fordham’s leading scorer (12.1 ppg) and rebounder (5.3 rpg).

Peters averaged 15 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals in the two wins. In the win over Norfolk State yesterday, Peters recorded her first career doubled-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She also had six steals. Peters is the Rams second leading scorer and rebounder heading into action today, averaging 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She is averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game since joining the starting lineup on December 6.

Hurst is Fordham’s first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week since Lisa Carrol earned the honor back in December of 2006. This marks the first time that Fordham has netted both honors in the same week since joining the conference in the 1995-96 season.

Great work by the Fordham Sports Information Office previewing the Fordham Holiday Tournament (http://fordhamsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/122708aab.html) which begins Sunday afternoon at 1:00 with the Rams taking on Norfolk State, followed by Colgate battling Bryant at approximately 3:00. The championship game will take place Monday afternoon around 3:00, preceded by the consolation game which will tip off at 1:00.

This is the second straight year that Fordham has hosted the holiday tournament. The Rams enter action with a 5-6 record.

Let’s recap the week that was for the Fordham women’s basketball team.

It was a tale of two games offensively for the Rams.

First, against local rival Iona last Wednesday, the Rams shot 54.2 percent from the floor, including 12 three-pointers, but the Gaels still managed to defeat Fordham, 72-69, in a hard fought battle in New Rochelle, New York.

Fordham led by three at the half, 34-31, thanks in large part to their shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range (Iona was 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half). The Rams would increase their lead to 13, 60-47, with 10 minutes left in the game. However, 21 turnovers on the night by Fordham led to 25 points for the Gaels, who went on a 25-9 run to close out the game, dropping the Rams to 4-5 on the year. Iona improved to 8-2.

Fordhamsports.com points out that the Rams finished 12-for-16 from three-point range, the most three-pointers by the team since December 16, 1999, when they hit 12 at Texas. Fordham’s 75 percent three-point shooting effort is best in the NCAA this season.

Four Rams scored in double figures against Iona. Becky Peters (5-of-5 from three-point range) had 23 points, Annie Zopf (4-of-6 from three-point range) had 14 points, Kristina Bell (3-of-3 from three-point range) had 11 points, and Takita Earl had 10 points.

Playing at UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Fordham once again turned the ball over 21 times, and shot 1-for-14 from three-point range, leading to a 50-39 defeat to the Spartans.

The Rams trailed 27-14 at the half on 6-of-17 shooting. The Spartans scored 13 points off Fordham turnovers. UNC Greensboro (4-5) would lead by as many as 15 in the second half, though Fordham would get the lead down to three with 2:25 remaining. At one point during their run, Fordham held the Spartans scorless for almost seven minutes, allowing them to get back into the game late. However, the Spartans would score the final eight points of the contest to drop the Rams to 4-6.

For the game, the Rams shot 37 percent from the floor. Peters led the way with 17 points. Bell had eight rebounds.

The Rams are off for final exams until next Monday night when Central Connecticut State comes to Rose Hill for a 7:00 contest.

Sophomore guard Meghan Mahoney has left the women’s basketball program, according to radio and internet reports. Though the university has not issued a formal announcement, Mahoney has not played in the team’s last two games, a loss to Georgetown and a win this past Saturday over Wofford. Mahoney is no longer listed on the team’s roster at fordhamsports.com.

Mahoney was averaging 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds through six games, including two games in Cancun over the Thanksgiving weekend, but has not played since the team returned to the United States. Mahoney was named to the Atlantic 10 All -Rookie Team a year ago after leading the Rams in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game. The Staten Island product was ranked fifth nationally in scoring among freshman and ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring in conference games. She started 27 games a year ago and scored in double figures in 25 of 29 games.

Fordham SportsNet will continue to monitor this developing story.

What a difference a year makes.

The Fordham women’s basketball team, winless a season ago, won for the fourth time already this year, a 55-53 win yesterday afternoon over Wofford College on Alumni Day at the Rose Hill Gym.

Newcomer Randall Hurst, a 5-11 junior who played last year at Daytona Beach Community College, led the way with a career-high 27 points to go along with nine rebounds. She scored the winning basket on a layup with 6.8 seconds left in regulation.

Fordham trailed by eight, 26-18, with five minutes to play in the first half, but went on an 11-2 run to close out the half, heading into halftime with a 29-28 advantage. The key stat in the first half: Fordham forced nine Wofford turnovers and converted them into 15 points.

Hurst began to take over in the second half, scoring nine of Fordham’s first 11 points. She finished 11-of-21 from the floor. Takita Earl score nine points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked two shots, Becky Peters scored eight points, and Kristina Bell had five points, seven rebounds, four assists, five steals, and two blocks.

The Rams travel to New Rochelle Wednesday night for a 7:30 contest with the Iona Gaels.