It was another week of ups and downs for the Fordham women's basketball team as it split its two games this past week.

The first, a home game against the Charlotte 49ers, was the lopoint of the week.

The Rams entered the contest with a record just above .500 in Rose Hill Gym, at 5-4. Unfortunately, that record would fall down to an even 5-5 in a 61-41 loss to Charlotte, ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10.

The Rams knew going into the game against the 49ers that it would be a tough one. Charlotte is an athletic and experienced team, provinb to be an obstacle to the young Rams squad.

 "[Charlotte is] Another team that is extremely athletic, all of their go-to players are juniors and seniors, and we just don't have the same athletes and don't have the same experience," Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley said. "It's just a classic case of a more experienced and more talented team coming out on top"

The team was especially hoping to get a win in the Jan. 25 home game, as it was Gaitley's birthday.

"I guess they decided, ‘Hey Coach, we just don't want to make it a great day for you'," Gaitley joked.

The team would make the performance up to her on Saturday, Jan. 28 up in Amherst, Mass. whenthey defeated UMass 56-54 on a last second shot from freshman forward Emily Tapio.

"It was great to get a good conference win, especially after tough losses to Dayton and Charlotte and being on the road and in their house," Tapio said.

This was Fordham's second conference win, the first of which came at home against Rhode Island and pushed the Rams' road record above .500 to 6-5.

"When you're trying to take over a program and change culture, I think it's little steps," Gaitley said about her team's win.

"It's about getting the current players to believe, and to do the little things right. Any time you can get a win on the road I think it's a great thing."

The deciding play came after UMass hit a three to tie the game at 54 with just nine seconds remaining. After a Fordham timeout, junior guard Arielle Collins found Tapio breaking down court and hit her with a pass that led to the game winning layup with just two seconds left.

"I was really excited to be in the game in that moment, and we were able to pull it together and get a great win on the road," Tapio said.

The win put Fordham back to .500 overall at 11-11 and improved their conference record to 2-5, placing them at tenth in the standings. The top twelve teams of the conference make the tournament at season's end.

The Rams' upcoming games include a weekday matinee against La Salle on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 12:00 in Rose Hill Gym.

Fordham will follow that up with a road game in Philadelphia against Temple.