DePaul Rolls Over Fordham
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boxscore
HONOLULU, Hawai’i – The DePaul women’s basketball team found their shooting stroke and lit up the scoreboard with a 92-73 win over the Fordham Rams on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Demons move into the consolation championship of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic and play the winner of the Gonzaga-Denver game on Sunday afternoon. DePaul improves to 2-1 on the season while Fordham drops to 2-2.
The Rams took an early 8-3 lead on four free throws and a pair of jumpers only to see the Blue Demons scored the game’s next six points to take a 9-8 lead with 15:45 on the clock. The run started on a three-pointer by Lindsay Forsberg followed by a lay-up and free throw by Jenni Dant.
After Fordham’s Patrica Williams knocked down a pair of free throws, Sarah Kustok nailed one of five first-half three’s for the Blue Demons to regain the lead at 12-10. The Rams regrouped and went on an 11-4 run to build a 21-16 advantage.
Dant ended the Fordham run with two free throws before she stole the ball and went uncontested at the other end to give the Blue Demons the lead for good. Back-to-back three-pointers by Forsberg and Laura Sobieszczyk increased the DePaul advantage to 28-23 with under six minutes left in the first half.
The Rams came to within three points in the final minutes of the half before DePaul outscored them, 11-4, and took a 41-34 lead at the intermission. In the first stanza, the Blue Demons shot .412 from the field while holding Fordham to a .360 shooting percentage.
DePaul opened the second half like they ended the first with five treys in the first seven minutes. They outscored the Rams, 22-11, and built a 63-45 advantage with 13:46 left in the game. During the run, Ashley Luke tallied a pair of three’s while Forsberg, Kustok and Dant had one each.
Fordham head coach Jim Lewis tried to slow the Blue Demons down with a timeout, but the Blue Demons were rolling. A pair of free throws by Khara Smith gave DePaul a 21-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
The lead grew to as many as 32 points on a Sobieszczyk three-pointer with just under four miutes left in the contest. The Blue Demons shot .471 from the field in the second half and knocked down 6-of-14 three-point attempts. The 92 points by DePaul is the most since the defeated Southern Miss, 100-72, last season.
Dant led all scorers with 23 points while Khara Smith added 14 points and six rebounds. Jamie Smith grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with six points. Forsberg and Charlene Smith each chipped in 11 points and four players reached double-figures for the second straight game.