This wasn’t the way it was supposed to end for Fordham. With a 12-0 run to begin the game, it looked like the Rams were on their way to an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 1994. However, with under 10 seconds to go, the clock finally struck midnight on this magical season as freshman Samantha Clark was whistled for a questionable offensive foul giving St. Joes their first A-10 championship since 1999.
I write this open letter to you to implore you to look deeper than RPI, SOS, and wins and losses. I ask that you select on more variables than simple statistics, because they often fail to grasp the growth and maturation process of a basketball team. I ask that you consider a few things, statistical and otherwise, when you consider the Fordham Rams for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament...
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. A magical run to the Atlantic 10 Final by Fordham women’s basketball ended in bitter disappointment at the Barclays Center, as the Rams fell to the Hawks of Saint Joseph’s, 47-46. Saint Joseph’s, by virtue of their tournament victory, claimed the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and the league’s championship trophy. For Fordham, the loss dimmed hopes of an NCAA tournament berth as the Rams wait to hear of their postseason fate on Monday night.
What: #3 Fordham (24-7, 12-2, 8 game winning streak) v. #4 Saint Joseph’s (22-8, 11-3, 2 game winning streak)
Where: Barclays Center (Brooklyn, New York)
When: Saturday, March 16, 2013, 7:00pm tipoff
How to Follow: Listen HERE beginning with an extended One on One Pregame Report. The broadcast begins around 6:15pm. The pregame show will feature interviews with Fordham athletic director Dave Roach and Fordham Hall of Famer Anne Gregory O’Connell.
By Chris Marasco
The Fordham Rams will continue their magical 2012-2013 campaign at the Barclays Center this Saturday night at 7PM against the Saint Joseph’s Hawks in the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship Game. After finishing the regular season at 22-7 and adding two more victories in the conference tournament, it is safe to say that this team exceeded outside expectations. Throughout the year, the Rams have surpassed various milestones with the latest being an Atlantic 10 semi-final appearance, a semi-final victory, not to mention their head coach picking up her 500th career win. Not too bad for a team that was ranked number eleven in the A10’s pre-season poll.
On the morning of Saturday March 9th, in Olean, NY, Mack Rosenberg and I sat down with Fordham Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Pecora for the final time this season. Fordham’s final game with Saint Bonaventure was just hours away, so we took the chance to look back on this season, and look ahead to next year.
Heading into their regular season finale at St. Bonaventure, the Fordham Rams didn’t appear to have much to play for. They had no chance of making the A10 tournament, and they hadn’t won a road conference game in four calendar years. On the other side, the Bonnies had everything to play for. A win for the Bonnies put them into postseason play. It was also Senior Day at the Reilly Center. Despite the odds, the young Fordham team played hard for 40 minutes, and their senior leader Chris Gaston stepped up when it mattered most, leading the Rams to an improbable 76-72 win to finish out the year.
Fordham (6-24, 2-13 A10) finished out their 2013 home slate with a 19 point loss to Temple (22-8, 10-5 A10) Wednesday night, 74-55. Fordham led 12-6 with about 13 minutes to go in the first half, but scored only five points for the remainder of the half and found themselves down by 11 at the break. This put them in a hole they would never climb out of before a sparse Rose Hill Gym crowd.
The Fordham Rams have come a long way since game one back on November 9th against the University of Albany. At 22-7 and 11-2 in conference, the Rams finished the regular season as the third best team in the A-10. Its been a historic year for the Maroon and White, but it is far from over as Fordham prepares for the Atlantic 10 tournament in Philadelphia this weekend.
Entering the Rams’ second matchup of the season against the Saint Joseph’s Hawks, the Fordham Rams had a lot of hope. In their first matchup with the Hawks this season, Fordham played them incredibly close and were a few missed free throws and turnovers away from coming out with a win. Saint Joe’s won that first matchup 66-62. The second time around was not nearly as close, as the Hawks cruised to an 82-56 victory.
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