THE WRAP: Forty Full Minutes Sends Fordham To Victory....

Even though she had missed her last eight three-point attempts after starting the game 3-for-4, Fordham freshman guard Hannah Missry had the green light, with a smile, from her head coach.

"I kept it light in the huddle," said Stephanie Gaitley. "Hey, the bank was open! Keep shooting."

Missry's three-pointer that banked in the basket with 1:13 to go pulled the visiting Rams to within two, 71-69, of the homestanding VCU Rams. 28 seconds later, Missry got another look, this time from the baseline. She rewarded the faith of Gaitley by hitting the bottom of the net.

Fordham never looked back, hitting free throws to wrap up a 76-73 win in Richmond, to improve to 4-1 in the Atlantic 10. It was a very disappointing defeat for VCU, who fell to 3-2 in the league. Both teams are 15-3 overall.

"Give credit to Fordham. We knew it would be a forty-minute battle, and they outlasted us down the stretch," said VCU head coach Marlene Stollings, who is now 0-2 against Fordham in the A-10. VCU had hoped, in part, to avenge a 71-41 loss in the Bronx in the teams' only meeting last season, and Fordham senior guard Erin Rooney knew, though a year had gone by, VCU likely had a long memory.

"We knew no matter what kind of team they were this year they were going to come out at us," Rooney noted, saying she had studied tape of VCU since they were "one of the top teams" in the Atlantic 10.

Fordham jumped to a 7-2 start, and hit eight three-pointers in the first half en route to a 43-36 intermission advantage. Stollings sent redshirt sophomore center Melanie Royster into the game to start the second half to try to interrupt the Fordham offense, who, when they weren't hitting from three, were finding open lanes for easy layups to build that seven-point edge.

"She (Royster) really disrupted them in the paint," Stollings explained. "They were dumping down and getting quite a few layups. Her size really bothered them."

And, at first, Fordham's need to go back to the outside jumper did not pay off, as they looked very tired. Shots were falling short, some not hitting the rim, and the Fury of VCU moved out to a 66-58 lead, when they were once down 11, with 4:30 to play.

But whether decided or not, the homestanding Rams decided to slow their tempo at this point, possibly to take time off the clock. They began to miss shots, Fordham limited second chances, and the door was open for Missry and company.

VCU had a chance to send the game to overtime with a three after a missed free throw with 13 seconds left, but failed.

VCU must next make the trip to Amherst, Massachusetts to battle UMass Saturday afternoon. Fordham next goes to Ohio for a showdown with preseason A-10 pick Dayton Sunday afternoon.