Women's Basketball Drops Fourth Straight at George Washington

Box Score (pdf)

Washington, D.C. – The Fordham women's basketball team dropped its fourth straight, 63-46, at George Washington on Wednesday afternoon. The Rams fall to 15-9 (6-4 A-10) on the season, while the Colonials improve to 14-9 (7-3 A-10) overall.
 
It was another tale of two halves for Fordham on the day, with a defensive slugfest in the first half that tilted in the Rams' favor at halftime, and an impressive two-way display by the hosts in the second stanza as the visitors struggle to cope. The Colonials didn't make one of their eight three-point attempts but hit 50.9% of their points inside the arc en route to the 17-point victory.
 
Two of the top defenses went at it in the first quarter, totaling just nine points by the first media timeout, 5-4 in Fordham's favor. Lauren Holden drained a three coming out of the break for a personal 5-0 run, while the Rams held their opponents without a point over a six-minute span. George Washington bounced back with two baskets sandwiched around a Danielle Padovano three before G'mrice Davis notched her first points of the day with a tough basket in the post with under a minute to go. Kelli Prange's basket in the dying seconds cut the deficit to three, 13-10, at the end of the quarter.
 
The Colonials used a 4-0 run to start the second frame, taking a brief lead before Davis' attempt dropped as she was getting fouled. The junior converted the three-point play and the only other basket before the media timeout would come on Mei-Lyn Bautista's jumper, tying the score at 16-16. Lexi Martin converted two consecutive layups to retake the lead and Coach Gaitley took a timeout after Caira Washington's open jumper erased Davis' basket. Fordham was rejuvenated out of the break and went on a 8-0 run into halftime via a Burns layup, another Davis and-one, and a Burns corner three on the fastbreak. The Rams held a 26-22 lead at the break.
 
The second half was all George Washington, with a 10-run stop-started by two Fordham timeouts over the first three-plus minutes. Padovano's second three stopped the slide and, after a Martins free throw, Burns nailed another three to cut the deficit to one, 33-32. That was the closest Fordham would get, however, as the Colonials bounced back with a 14-6 run to close out the quarter. Mary Goulding's buzzer-beating jumper got the deficit under double figures, 47-38.  
 
Davis scored all eight of Fordham's points in the fourth quarter, while George Washington again doubled up the Rams, this time 16-8.
 
The Colonials scored 38 points in the paint compared to Fordham's 18 and the Colonials capitalized on many of the Rams' 19 turnovers, scoring 22 points. The Colonials, meanwhile, committed just seven turnovers compared to 20 assists. The Colonials grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, and won the overall battle of the boards, 35-28.
 
George Washington shot 44.1% overall, while Fordham converted on 38.6% of their attempts, shooting 50% or better in the first and third quarters.
 
Davis finished with her 15th double-double of the year, tallying a team-high 18 points and 14 rebounds to go with a block and two steals. However, the junior also committed six turnovers, the second-highest mark of her campaign. Danielle Burns was the other Ram in double figures, totaling 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Padovano's six points led the bench and the senior also matched her career-best with two swats. Hannah Missry was held scoreless for the second consecutive contest.
 
The Rams return home to host St. Bonaventure this Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. It is the team's annual Alumni Day with at least 22 confirmed participants starting at 11 a.m.