By MATT ROSENFELD
SPORTS EDITOR
Another successful week is in the books for the Fordham women’s basketball team. The Rams won in dominating fashion, 66-56, at home last Wednesday against George Washington and then traveled to Missouri to take on St. Louis, which resulted in another Fordham victory, 61-56, and guaranteed the Rams would end the 2012-2013 season with a winning record in the Atlantic 10 for the first time in program history.
It was an interesting scene at the Rose Hill Gym on Feb. 13 when George Washington came into the Bronx for a noon tipoff. It was School Day, meaning 1,500 school children from around the area packed into Rose Hill Gym to watch the matchup.
The energy in the building immediately showed in Fordham’s play, as the Rams jumped out to a 6-0 lead only two minutes into the game, forcing the Colonials to take a timeout. Each time Fordham made a basket, the sea of children screamed quite loudly for their Rams, creating the most electric home atmosphere the women’s basketball team has had all year.
“It was great for the kids to play in front of something like that,” head coach Stephanie Gaitley said.
Things would only improve for Fordham after the timeout. Four points each from junior Erin Rooney and graduate student Marah Strickland, along with a three pointer from senior Arielle Collins, gave Fordham a 17-2 advantage before George Washington needed its second timeout with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Fordham remained relentless throughout the half. After the second George Washington timeout, the Rams went on another run, this time to the tune of 13-4 as they extended their early lead to 24 points before a Colonial three pointer slowed the Rams down. With nine minutes remaining in the first half, Fordham had seemingly already determined the outcome, holding a 30-9 lead.
The Rams would get the lead to 28 before George Washington started to make any dent. After the score hit 37-9 in favor of Fordham, the Colonials finished the half on a 14-6 run that pulled them to within 20 points at half, with the score 43-23.
The second half seemed like a mere formality. George Washington pulled the lead down to 13 points just after the under-16 media timeout, but Fordham responded with a 7-0 run that pushed its lead back to 20.
George Washington was able to put a dent into the lead near the end, when many of Fordham’s second team players were on the floor, but the Rams still managed to walk away with a double digit victory.
Four Rams scored double figures, as Strickland led the game with 16 points, while Collins, sophomore Abigail Corning and Rooney had 15, 14 and 13 respectively. Rooney was also one assist away from recording a double-double.
Fordham then flew to St. Louis to take on the Billikens on Feb. 17 in a tough conference road game. To make matters even worse for Fordham, the team learned that Strickland would be unavailable because of an ankle injury. Nonetheless, the Rams had to take on the then 10-14 St. Louis Billikens.
The two teams played rather evenly in the opening minutes of the game. It was right after the under-16 media timeout that St. Louis went on an 11-2 run to give them a nine point lead midway through the first half.
Fordham, as resilient as ever without its top scorer, fought back over the next five minutes to take the lead 26-21. The Rams outscored the Bilikens 17-3 over that span. St. Louis would come back to tie the game at 28 heading into halftime.
“It’s been such a resilient team,” Gaitley said. “Different people have stepped up all year for us.”
In the second half, Fordham would start the scoring with a 6-0 run that included an old-fashioned three-point play from Rooney and a three-pointer by Collins. The Rams would never give up that lead, extending it to as much as 12 halfway through the second half.
St. Louis would narrow the lead down to three with 18 seconds remaining in the game, but two successful free throws from freshman Samantha Clark would secure the game and a winning Atlantic 10 season for Fordham.
Rooney led the game in scoring with 19 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds. Corning made her presence felt on the glass, recording 13 rebounds, seven of which were offensive
Sophomore Christina Gaskin took the majority of minutes left by Strickland’s absence. The 6’1” forward had two blocks to go along with seven points and six rebounds.
“Christina Gaskin did a tremendous job,” Gaitley said. “She came in and filled the void. Everybody else remained steady. I was very proud of how we were able to tough it out on the road.”
The two wins take Fordham’s record to 18-7 overall, 8-2 in the Atlantic 10. The Rams will travel to Rhode Island on Feb. 21 to take on URI. Then, Fordham comes home to take on St. Joe’s on Feb 24.
