By Matt Rosenfeld
In the heart of its conference schedule, the Fordham women’s basketball team split its two games this week, defeating Davidson 66-45 on the road, but falling to Duquesne at Rose Hill Gym 56-46 this past Saturday.
Coming off its first loss in Atlantic 10 play, Fordham made the trek to North Carolina to get back to its winning ways. With the score tied at 17 midway through the first half, senior Emily Tapio took over, scoring all of Fordham’s points in a 9-1 run to give the Rams a comfortable lead. Tapio was not done there, however. She managed to score the final six points in the half to send the Rams into the break with a 35-24 lead.
Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin narrowly missed another double-double in the game, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with eight points. Sophomore guard Hannah Missry also added to the scoring. The sharpshooter went four of seven from three-point land, finishing with 14 points of her own.
But, the day belonged to Tapio. It was a banner day for the senior captain as she scored a career-high 23 points, shooting 10 of 16 from the field. She also had six rebounds and four assists in an all-around great day. “She realizes as a senior that it’s time to step up,” head coach Stephanie Gaitley said. “They gave her the opportunity, and she took it and took advantage.”
Fordham’s advantage would never come under serious threat for the rest of the game. Twice, the Wildcats would cut the deficit to single digits, but both times the Rams would counter with runs of their own to add cushion to the lead.
After taking care of Davidson, the Rams returned home to face Duquesne, a team that is always near the top of the A-10.
The first half was a tightly contested one. Both teams shot poorly, keeping the game very low-scoring. The Rams shot just 26 percent from the field in the first half, but at one point held the lead 17-15. But, Duquesne ended the half on a 9-2 run that started the downslide for the home team. The Dukes led 24-19 at halftime.
Fordham could not stop the skid when the second half started. Duquesne scored the first eight points in the second half and stretched its lead to 32-19, putting the Rams on their heels.
As usual, Fordham’s tenacity showed itself as the Rams quickly cut the lead to eight. But Fordham’s defense, which it usually relies on, failed on Saturday. It was just not able to stop the Dukes’ offense. Junior guard April Robinson, in particular, seemed to cause problems. She finished the game with 18 points, but continually hit three-pointers that deflated any Fordham comeback attempt.
Missry was Fordham’s leading scorer with 12 points, as she shot four of 10 from deep. Tapio added 11 points and six rebounds of her own, but none of it was enough.
“To beat the better teams [in the A-10], you’ve got to be on all cylinders,” Gaitley said. “We weren’t close to all cylinders on Saturday. We’ve got to stay focused. We’ve got to take care of the ball. Nineteen turnovers against Duquesne is too much.”
“We got outrebounded,” she said. “I felt we got out-toughed, and that’s not acceptable. Our standards are that nobody out-toughs us.”
The loss dropped Fordham to 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the conference. The Rams currently sit in third in the conference, just behind Dayton and George Washington.
Fordham will host St. Bonaventure in its next game on Thursday, Feb. 5. The Rams defeated the Bonnies 72-62 on the road earlier in the year.
