BRONX, N.Y. – Desirae Ball scored 17 points and Denisha Womack posted her first career double-double, but Fordham pulled away late in the first half and defeated Saint Louis 74-52 Thursday night at Rose Hill Gym in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams.

Erin Nelson had 15 points for the Billikens, who slipped to 5-9.

Womack netted a career-high 12 points and came up one rebound shy of tying her career best on the glass, grabbing a team-high 11 boards.

Olivia Jakubicek had five rebounds and three assists, Jamesia Price chipped in three assists and a game-high three steals, and Sadie Stipanovich collected five rebounds.

Erin Rooney recorded game highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds for Fordham (12-2), which extended its winning streak to 11 games. Abigail Corning tossed in 19 points to go with a game-high four assists.

Fordham jumped out to a 13-4 lead and was in front 28-18 when Saint Louis caught fire. Nelson buried her third 3-pointer, and Ball – who tallied 13 first-half points – scored on three straight possessions, including a trey, in a 10-2 spurt that trimmed the Fordham advantage to 30-28.

However, the Rams answered with a 10-0 run and concluded the opening period with a 40-28 cushion.

The Billikens were within striking distance midway through the second half, trailing 52-39 at the 10:59 mark. But Fordham used an 11-2 flurry to go on top 63-41 with 6:24 to play, and the lead remained at 20 or more the rest of the way.

“I give Fordham a ton of credit,” head coach Lisa Stone said. “Erin Rooney and Abigail Corning are two really good senior guards leading a veteran team that played a young, up-and-coming Billiken squad that sometimes had four freshmen on the court tonight, which is great for our future.

“We made a great run at them late in the first half, and they answered with a 10-0 run that was the difference in the momentum of the game,” Stone said. “Our team kept fighting and battling the entire game, but we just didn't get enough pop in the second half. We shot the ball better than we have recently, but Fordham was just too much for us tonight. We're going to learn and grow from this, and we'll only get better from here.”