Box Score
BRONX, NY – Fordham put together a 36-point second-half en route to a 57-45 victory over visiting New Jersey Institute of Technology Tuesday night in women's basketball action at the Rose Hill Gym.
The Rams were led Megan Mahoney, Annie Zopf and Tiffany Stokes each collecting nine points. Zopf recorded all nine points from behind the arc shooting 3-for-5.
The Highlanders were out-rebounded, 43-27, led by Mahoney and Stokes sharing game-high honors with NJIT's Ivana Seric with seven boards. The seven rebounds for Seric is a season-best.
Fordham's Randall Hurst and Takita Earl combined for 16 points for the home team. Hurst grabbed five rebounds while Earl posted a game-high four block shots.
NJIT junior Taiwo Oyelola led the Highlanders with a game-high 11 points – eight coming in the first half. Jessica Gerald followed closely behind with 10, scoring eight of her 10 points from the free throw line. Seric added seven points as freshman Melanie Griffin playing in just her third game of the season posted a career-high six points off the bench for the Highlanders. Sophomore Adriana Johnson, playing just 10 minutes scored five points.
Fordham opened up with the first bucket of the game on a layup by Mahoney. Both teams went back-and-forth until the 7:00 mark, when the Highlanders found themselves up five, 15-10, as Gerald hit one of two from the free throw line.
The game became knotted with 1:30 left in the first half on a three-pointer by Rams Zopf, 21-21. NJIT's Gerald scored the last four points of the half from the free throw line going into the locker room with a 25-21 lead.
With the start of the second half underway, the Rams sparked an 8-0 run led by Earl with four points, taking a 29-25 lead. NJIT got on the board with 14:47 on the clock, when Taiwo Oyelola broke the ice with a jumper and one minute later Gerald scored on a running jumper in the paint closing the gap, 33-31.
Fordham started their second run of the half outscoring the Highlanders 16-4 over the next six minutes jumping ahead 49-35 with 8:43 left to go in the game. Mahoney and Stokes led the way for the Rams with five points.
The Highlanders cut the deficit to 12 on three occasions, but Fordham closed out the game from the free throw line in the last 1:13 left to play.
NJIT returns to action this weekend when they travel to the University of Maine and compete in the 2008 Dead River Company Classic. On Friday, NJIT faces West Virginia at 3pm. On Saturday, the Highlanders will either face Maine or Brown at 1pm/4pm.
