Jan. 23, 2010

Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. - Sophomore Lara Gaspar netted a game-high 14 points, but she was the only Ram to score in double figures as Rhody dropped a 53-47 decision at Fordham on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Anisha Wilson added nine points, four steals and three assists off the bench while seniors Andrea Buck and Lindsay Harris pulled down six boards apiece. Harris also recorded a game-high five steals to go along with two assists and a block.

As a team, Rhode Island shot 44.7% (21-47) from the field, but connected on just 4-of-12 attempts from the foul line and 1-of-11 shots from long range. Fordham, meanwhile, was 21-49 (42.9%) overall and 6-of-15 from three point territory.

With the loss, URI drops to 9-11 (2-3 Atlantic 10) while Fordham snaps its 10-game losing streak an improves to 7-13 (1-4).

Junior Megan Shoniker opened up the game with five straight points before Harris and Gaspar each added a basket to give Rhody an early 9-0 lead.

After missing its first six attempts, Fordham finally got on the board when a Tiffany Stokes layup made it 9-2 with 16:17 on the clock. The Rams continued to chip away at Rhody's lead until Becky Peters gave Fordham its first advantage of the day (18-17) with 6:36 left in the half. A jumper by freshman Ashley Rivera put URI back on top by one but Fordham closed out the frame with a 6-2 run to head into halftime with a 24-21 advantage.

Rhode Island returned from the break and used a 10-4 run over the first five minutes to reclaim the lead at 31-28. However, Fordham responded with a 9-2 push of its own to go up 37-33 with 12:12 left to play. The home team never trailed again - leading by as many as nine points (47-38) with just under three minutes to go - despite a late Rhody run that got URI to within four (49-45) with 1:08 remaining.

Rhode Island returns to the Ryan Center to take on nationally-ranked Xavier, Wednesday night at 7 p.m.