Whether it was Helen Holloway exploding with 21 points, the speed spearheaded by Carla Coleman or a bench that combined for 40 points, the women's basketball team simply proved to be too much for Patriot League Champion Fordham last night.

In an NCAA first-round Midwest match up, the No. 1-seeded Lady Lions (26-2) overpowered the Rams (21-9) on the way to a 94-41 victory in front of 4,503 rowdy Rec Hall fans. The 53-point difference was the second-largest winning margin ever in a Midwest tournament game, a game that was over in the opening minutes.

"We started out full-court pressure," Coach Rene Portland said. "We wanted to not only send a message to Fordham that we were going to play that way, but we wanted to send a message to oursleves that that was the speed and the tempo we wanted to proceed with in the tournament."

The tale of the victory was told at the free-throw line as the Lady Lions had a season-low six fouls. While Portland was disappointed with the Lady Lions' 15-for-25 performance at the line, Fordham went 0-for-1. Entering the game, the Rams held a nation-leading 77 percent mark.

"Well, we wanted to keep our national ranking so we tried not to get to the line," joked Fordham Coach Kevin Morris. "(The Lady Lions) are such good athletes, and they're tall -- they can block shots without fouling."

The Lady Lions led 41-15 at the half and opened the second with a 16-0 run.

Junior center Missy Masley picked up all nine of her points in the second, while Coleman managed a series of lightning-fast steals and layups that had the crowd crazed.

"Carla's move tonight . . . I don't know which one I'm talking about," Portland said. "There were so many."

Coleman had 13 for the game, 11 in the second half. Sophomore guard Alayna Jankunis led the Rams with 12 points.

"It's definitely great to be back," said Coleman, who had to watch last year's tournament with a knee injury. "This was defintely a motivator for me to be back and playing at NCAA time."

In the first half, the Lady Lions held the Rams scoreless for almost five minutes, going on a 13-0 tear. For the first 16 minutes, the Rams could only manage 11 points by just two players -- Jankunis and junior guard Denise Hammersley.

Junior Lady Lion guard Katina Mack left the game with 1:41 left in the first half after re-spraining her right ankle, an injury sustained earlier in the season against Ohio State. Nothing was fractured, but her status is day-to-day.

The Lady Lions now advance to the second round and will meet Kansas at 1 p.m. Saturday in Rec Hall. Tickets go on sale at 8:30 this morning at Rec Hall and Beaver Stadium ticket offices until 7 p.m. Prices are $6 for adults and $3 for students.