BRONX, N.Y. - Fighting back from a 19-point deficit, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team's rally fell short Sunday afternoon as the Hawks fell to Fordham, 47-40, at Rose Hill Gym.
Down 43-32 with 5:32 to play, Saint Joseph's (9-8, 3-2 Atlantic 10) quickly chipped away at the Rams lead to make it a two possession game. Using an 8-1 run, the Hawks came within four, 44-40, on a jumper by senior Ciara Andrews with 2:25 to play.
The Hawks would get a steal on defense in the next possession, but couldn't convert as the Rams (8-10, 3-2 A-10) used most of the shot clock before finding Samantha Clark for a layup with 1:18 to go.
That would be as close as SJU would get though as it finished with a season-low 40 points on 16-of-57 shooting (28.1 percent).
Going just 1-of-8 from the floor to start, Saint Joseph's fell behind the Rams quickly, 23-4, in the first quarter. Fordham, which jumped out to an 11-0 lead, opened the game going 8-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-5 from three-point range, to take a 23-4 advantage on a Clark three-pointer with 2:39 to go in the period.
The Hawks answered back with a 7-0 run to end the quarter and kept the momentum going into the second period as it out scored Fordham 15-2 over nine minutes to come within six, 25-19, on a jumper by Chelsea Woods at 3:09.
A three-pointer by Hannah Missry snapped SJU's comeback as it sparked a 7-0 run by Fordham to end the second quarter and gave the host Rams a 32-19 lead at halftime.
Fordham expanded its lead to as many as 17 in the second half before the Hawks' late rally.
Individually, Andrews, Woods and junior Amanda Fioravanti each had eight points for SJU, with Woods chipping in a with six rebounds and three steals. Senior Sarah Fairbanks grabbed a team-best eight rebounds to go with six points and a pair of steals.
At the other end, Fordham shot 36.2 percent overall (17-of-47) and went 8-of-17 from three-point range (47.1 percent). Danielle Burns finished with a game-high 13 points, while Clark added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The two teams will play again this season on February 10 at Hagan Arena.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they host Saint Louis at 7 p.m.
