Women's Basketball Falls Short at Boston College, 55-52

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Chestnut Hill, Mass. – The Fordham women's basketball team fell, 55-52, in its first road contest of the 2017-18 season, at Boston College on Thursday morning in front of 1,800 screaming local schoolchildren in attendance for Field Trip Day. With the loss, the Rams fall to 1-1 overall, while the Eagles improve to 2-1.
 
"This was a tough road test early with a young team," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "We have to learn from it and get better!"
 
Fordham were down 12 with three and a half minutes to play in the fourth quarter but conjured a furious 12-3 rally to take it all the way to the final whistle. Boston College could only attempt one basket over that time, with three turnovers and two trips to the free throw line, one with just seconds remaining.  
 
Aside from the late rally, the loss wasn't a direct result of too many turnovers or fouls, with just 11 turnovers on the day and only eight fouls before the final two minutes of the contest. Fordham shot just 32.3% (19-of-59) from the field and 2-of-15 (13.3%) from deep, although the team hit 12-of-14 free throws. All seven players who saw the court attempted at least one three-pointer, including G'mrice Davis' first career attempt, but only Bre Cavanaugh could convert, making two, which included the game's first basket.
 
After Cavanaugh's make on the opening possession, the Rams struggled to put the ball through the hoop, hitting four of their next 14 shots, and eventually losing the frame, 12-11. During the quarter, freshman Halei Gillis made her first career basket, a baseline jumper moments after grabbing an offensive board in traffic.
 
The Rams took nine more shots from the floor than their counterparts in the second quarter, but could hit just five-of-19 shots, including missing all five attempts from behind the arc. Despite the poor shooting, the Rams found themselves down just three, 26-23, heading into halftime because of a freshmen-inspired 8-3 run to close out the quarter. Gillis drained a long two from the top of the key, Cavanaugh converted her second make of the day, this one from inside the arc, and Johanna Klug scored four straight points over the final 37 seconds, consisting of an and-one and a free throw.
 
Neither team could get much going in the third frame, although Davis came alive for the Rams. Held to just two points in the first half, the senior forward scored all eight of Fordham's points in the period, her last basket cutting the deficit to four before Milan Bolden-Morris hit a three with just over a minute remaining to push the lead back up to seven, 38-31, heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Fordham outscored Boston College, 21-17, in the fourth quarter thanks to a late charge in the final minutes. The total 10 minutes was a tale of two halves, with the hosts holding serve for more than six minutes and outscoring their opponents, 14-9, over that time. Bolden-Morris hit yet another three to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the day, 52-40, but Cavanaugh answered on the other end with a corner three that kickstarted the rally. Fordham went on a 7-1 run over the next minute, first with a Lauren Holden layup and, after one free throw by Martina Mosetti, two Cavanaugh freebies and a Davis layup, the deficit was just three, 53-50, with 26 seconds to go. The Eagles were able to see out the win, however, with two more free throws by Mosetti, and a lack of enough time for Fordham to work with.
 
Davis led the way with game-highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 7-of-19 from the floor and hitting all four of her free throws. It was the senior's 25^th consecutive game scoring in double figures, dating back to December 13 of last year, all with eight boards or more, as well. The Philadelphia native finishes the day with 998 career ponts in maroon and white, just two shy of becoming the 20th player in school history to score 1,000 points. The last Ram to accomplish the feat was Davis' former teammate Hannah Missry a year ago.

Cavanaugh made it two straight games in double figures to start her Fordham career, scoring 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting, including two threes, with five boards, a game-high three steals. Lauren Holden chipped in 10 points, five boards, and two assists, while Klug added eight points and four boards. Kendell Heremaia was held scoreless but matched her two steals from last Friday.
 
Fordham outrebounded the Eagles, 34-32, but allowed the hosts to shoot 48.9% from the floor (22-of-45) and 54.5% from downtown (6-of-11). The Rams committed just 11 turnovers but tallied just six assists. The Eagles, meanwhile, had 17 and 13, respectively.
 
The Rams have a quick turnaround, heading up to Albany on Sunday for a 2 p.m. tip.