Jan. 23, 2005

Box Score

BRONX, NY - The University of Dayton women's basketball team pulled away from the Fordham Rams for a 63-50 win Sunday afternoon at Rose Hill Gymnasium. Jennifer Strong scored a career-high tying 21 points to go with seven rebounds. Dayton pulled away at the start of the second half with a 14-2 flurry.

Junior forward Cara Wright finished with 16 points and six rebounds as the Flyers (9-9; 3-4 Atlantic 10) split their road trip. Angela Cape added 10 points, including four-of-five from the free-throw line, and Terri Ramsey chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and a career-high tying six assists.

The Rams (4-15; 0-6 A-10) were led by Jada Jefferson's 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Dayton opened a 7-2 lead on two inside buckets from Wright and a three from Terri Ramsey. But the Rams answered with four from Jade Jefferson to pull within 10-6. Two three-pointers from Jennifer Strong gave UD a 15-10 lead, but the Rams answered to pull within 17-16 with 8:02 to go in the first half.

Wright scored two more from the paint, but Fordham pulled to 23-20 with three seconds to go before the half. Inbounding under the UD basket, Ramsey threw the long ball that Strong caught up to and laid in for a 25-20 lead at the half.

At the break, Wright led UD with 10 points, while Strong added eight to go with six first-half rebounds. The Flyers held Fordham to 24.1 percent shooting (7-of-29) for the half.

Strong opened the second half with a baseline jumper and added two three-pointers in the 14-2 Flyer flurry.

The Flyers led by 17, 39-22, five minutes into the second. The Rams reeled off 13-straight points over the next 4:42 to pull within four before Wright answered with an inside score to make it 41-35 with 11:12 remaining.

A three and an 18-foot jumper from Strong pushed the UD lead back up to 48-39. Angela Cape scored seven-straight points for UD as the Flyers built an 11-point lead at 55-44 with 5:10 to go. Fordham added four points, but Ramsey and Emily Williams each hit both ends of their one-and-ones.

The Flyers hit their first nine free-throws of the second half, and 13 of 17 in the half. UD also held the Rams to 29.8 percent shooting for the game. Atlantic 10 co-Rookie of the Week Brittany Holterman had six rebounds.

Strong, who was five-of-eight from three-point range, set her career- high of 21 originally against Texas Pan-American in November of 2003.

Due to what New York City news were calling the `Blizzard of 2005,' the game's start was pushed back an hour to 2:00 p.m.

The Flyers will visit Xavier on Thursday in a 7:00 p.m. Atlantic 10 Conference contest before their first game in UD Arena in 27 days, on Sunday, January 30, against the Duquesne Dukes.