By MATT ROSENFELD
SPORTS EDITOR
Head coach Stephanie Gaitley and her Rams were back in action, with two games bookending this past weekend. The Friday, Nov. 15 matchup in Hempstead, N.Y. against Hofstra ended in a 77-64 loss, while the matchup on Sunday, Nov. 17 at home against the University of the Pacific saw Fordham’s offense come alive in an 84-63 win.
Fordham had its second road game of the year on Friday, traveling to Long Island to take on the Hofstra Pride. Despite a valiant effort from senior guard Erin Rooney, who had a career-high 23 points, the Rams could not overcome Hofstra, which shot 48 percent from the field and had two 20 point scorers.
The game started with the two teams trading baskets early in the first half. Fordham led 9-8 five minutes in when Hofstra went on a 9-0 run that gave the Pride a 17-9 lead midway through the half. Hofstra was able to keep Fordham at bay, maintaining its sizable lead for most of the half, even extending it to as much as 13 with a minute remaining in the half. But, Fordham scored the last five points of the first half to cut the lead to eight, leaving the score at 34-26 heading into the locker room.
In the second half, Hofstra took over. Fordham was able to cut the lead down to six with 15 minutes to play, but the Hofstra offense could not be stopped. The Pride was able to build its lead up to 16 with a little under eight minutes to play, and never let it get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Senior Anma Onyeuku and junior Andreana Thomas led the way for Hofstra, scoring 23 and 21 points, respectively.
“[The Hofstra game] was one of the most disappointing efforts I’ve ever been a part of,” Gaitley said. “I didn’t see any type of effort from a defensive end or any type of focus.”
In its second game of the weekend, Fordham regained its form and dominated a Pacific team that defeated the Rams 62-40 last year in the team’s worst loss of the season.
“This was a huge step for us,” Gaitley said following the 84-63 win. “I knew when we lost to Hofstra, we were going to have our hands full [against Pacific]. This was a big step in the right direction for us.”
The Fordham offense was the story all afternoon, as the Rams shot 57 percent from the field and 47 percent from beyond the arc. All five of Fordham’s starters, Rooney, senior Abigail Corning, junior Emily Tapio, who had a career-high 17 points, sophomore Samantha Clark and freshman Hannah Missry had double-digit points. It was the second time in four games that the Rams scored 80 or more points.
Fordham jumped out to an 8-2 lead only two minutes into the game. Pacific hung with the Rams for a large part of the first half, staying within five with the help of some three-pointers and a lot of Fordham fouls.
Six points from Tapio then helped extend the Fordham lead to 13 with a little more than six minutes left in the half. Pacific cut the lead to 10 with three minutes to go, but in classic Fordham fashion, the Rams closed the half strong on an 11-2 run to take a 45-26 lead into halftime.
“We’ve had a couple of hard last two games and been in a bit of a scoring drought,” Rooney said. “Coach just told me to be a bit more aggressive without getting my number called.”
The second half saw more of the same explosive Fordham offense. The Rams started the second half on a 13-4 run, pushing the lead up to 28 only five minutes into the half. Rooney continued to lead the offense. She finished the game tying her career-high in points with 23, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds to secure a double-double.
Fordham’s defense, which had struggled to this point in the season, would not let up. The Rams kept the Tigers down by at least 21 for the remainder of the game.
“I think the kids get that defense can be fun if you take pride on defense,” Gaitley said. “This effort was outstanding, it was one of the better efforts I’ve seen from our team.”
Tapio’s career high in points was another big outcome from the game. The forward from Brewster, N.Y. had struggled offensively this year, but this game could be remembered as her breakout performance.
“This game feels like it’s been a long time coming,” Tapio said, smiling ear to ear, after the game.
Gaitley was also impressed with Tapio.
“I’ve been on Emily and she takes it personal, she takes the challenge to heart,” Gaitley said. “She was extremely focused in this game and you could tell from the first few moves that she was going to establish herself inside and go to the basket. I thought she did a terrific job.”
Fordham continues its homestand on Friday, Nov. 22, when it takes on the Yale Bulldogs in the Rose Hill Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.