No. 15 George Washington 66, Fordham 27

3/1/2008 4:51 PM

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -Forever linked to 0-29, Fordham's Megan Mahoney goes down as the best player on the team with the worst record in NCAA women's basketball history.

``It's going to be upsetting,'' said the freshman guard with the beautiful rainbow 3-point shot and nothing in her collegiate win column. ``But we're going to turn heads as the years go on. We're going to be the big upset to all the other teams.''

Fordham set a new mark for futility Saturday with a 66-27 season-ending loss to No. 15 George Washington, giving the Rams one loss more than the 0-28 teams of Charleston in 1990-91 and Centenary in 1999-2000.

The Rams have lost 33 straight games overall, their last victory a 74-65 win over Duquesne on Feb. 4, 2007. Fordham went 3-25 last season under first-year coach Cathy Andruzzi, who took over a decimated program that has enjoyed little success in decades.

``It's really funny because people look at the record, and they don't know the program history,'' Andruzzi said. ``You've got to know what we inherited. ... We're in a building process - not rebuilding because there's nothing to rebuild from. We have a ways to go.''

Fordham is well short of the NCAA record for consecutive losses over multiple seasons, 58 by Long Island University from 1987-89.

Fate was not kind to the Rams. They lost twice in overtime this season and had several other close games. Had they won just one of those, they would be remembered - then quickly forgotten - as simply a young, injury-riddled team having a bad season.

As it was, they lost them all, finishing with only eight players healthy enough to dress. Four of them were freshmen, including Mahoney, an exciting one-woman show and a player to build a program around.

``We never gave up - no matter what anybody was saying about us,'' said Mahoney, who scored 15 points in the finale. ``We just worked hard.''

Fordham (0-14 Atlantic 10) faced the worst possible scenario to avoid the dubious record: on the road against a ranked team battling for first place and celebrating Senior Day.

After giving flowers to its four seniors, George Washington (24-5, 12-2) pulled away with an early 19-0 run and clinched a share of its seventh consecutive A-10 regular season championship. The Colonials finished tied with Temple but will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, having lost to the Owls this season.

Jazmine Adair had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Colonials. Kimberly Beck, the only player in Division I women's history to record 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals and 60 blocks, scored 13 points in her final home game.

``We've had some letdowns,'' senior Sarah-Jo Lawrence said. ``But that doesn't mean that GW is not still the team to beat. We think we are, whether we go in there as the one seed, two seed, three seed, seven seed.''

Fordham's best chances for a win came in a 76-74 overtime loss to George Mason on Dec. 22 and in an 84-78 double overtime defeat at home to Saint Louis on Jan. 12.

The end wasn't pretty, though. After a two-point loss to Rhode Island on Feb. 6, Fordham finished the season with six straight losses by at least 17 points each. The Rams' season wrapped up Saturday because they failed to qualify for the A-10 tournament.

George Washington gave Fordham a chance by shooting poorly, but the Rams committed 25 turnovers and gave up 21 offensive rebounds. Their 27 points are the school's fewest since the NCAA women's basketball era began in 1981.

When the Rams were able to keep the ball, they couldn't get inside and mostly relied on 3-point attempts by Mahoney. She took 18 of her team's 43 shots, making five.

The Rams went 4-for-21 from the field in the first half, including a 2-for-2 start that gave them a 5-3 lead. The Colonials scored the next 19 points, with a fast-break layup by Lawrence giving GW the lead for good.

The Colonials' extended their home winning streak to 13 games. They are 14-0 all-time against Fordham, winning by an average of 26 points.

George Washington coach Joe McKeown sympathized with counterpart Andruzzi's rough season.

``She came into a tough situation,'' McKeown said. ``She's a tireless worker. It's just a question of giving her some time, giving her a chance. ... It feel for her in some respects.''