Women's Basketball Topples First Place Dayton on Senior Day

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team's senior day could not have gone any better, honoring three players and four managers pregame and then defeating the first-place Dayton Flyers, 66-52, while leading for nearly the entire contest. The Rams improved to 19-10 (10-5 A-10) on the season with the win, while the Flyers fell to 18-9 (12-3 A-10).
 
"I'm super happy for this class to be able to beat Dayton in the regular season for the first time," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "It was an outstanding team effort that resulted in a great win! It gives us great momentum as we head into tournament time."
 
Fordham, who had just dropped a heartbreaker in the final seconds on the road, 52-51, at Davidson on Tuesday night, bounced back with a terrific all-around performance against the league's most formidable team. In front of a raucous crowd of fans, alumni, family, and friends, the Rams only trailed during a 35 second window late in the first half and eventually ran their lead up to double figures down the stretch with impeccable free throw shooting.
 
What better way to start Senior Day but with a Hannah Missry three from the corner? The senior guard sparked a 10-4 run to start the game, which prompted a timeout from Dayton coach Shauna Green. G'mrice Davis hit a jumper, Lauren Holden drained a long-range attempt, and Kate Kreslina finished in the paint to make up the scoring. Out of the break, Saicha Grant-Allen hit a turnaround jumper in the lane, one of several buckets that she would make in the opening frame. However, Kreslina saw an opening and hit a three from the right wing to push the lead up to seven right after. The Flyers fought back to cut the deficit to three but Holden's second attempt also fell through and, after Kelley Austria converted a layup in the dying seconds, the Rams took a 20-14 lead into the second quarter.
 
Neither team could score over the first three-plus minutes of the frame until Alex Harris converted an and-one opportunity. The effort would begin a 13-5 run from the visitors for much of the period which culminated in Dayton's first and only lead of the contest, 27-25, on Maddy Dennis' only bucket of the afternoon, a three-pointer. On Fordham's next two offensive possessions, Kreslina was fouled and the freshman hit all four free throws to retake the lead, 29-27. After Jayla Scaife's jumper went through with under two minutes to play, the Rams took the lead for the final time on a Holden jumper with the shotclock winding down. Kreslina added another three with 26 seconds left for a game-high 12 points heading into halftime with Fordham up, 34-29.
 
The Flyers continued to threaten throughout the third quarter but the Rams had answers. Dayton would cut the deficit to one and then two, but Fordham continued to keep its opponent at bay. The third quarter went by quickly but produced just a 10-10 scoreline, with each team making just five baskets. Danielle Burns notched her first two buckets of the game to end the frame right before a Lauren Cannatelli layup. The Rams held a 44-39 advantage heading into the final stanza.
 
Where the third quarter was quick, the fourth quarter slogged on, with a combined seven different trips to the line for both teams over the final 90 seconds. Kreslina started the period's scoring with a nice move to the basket towards the end of the shot clock, floating the ball in the lane, and the two teams would trade shots over the next two minutes. Cannatelli was left wide open on a three-pointer and she converted to cut the lead to two, 48-46, prompting a timeout from Coach Gaitley. Burns fought for a layup out of the break to give the hosts a four-point cushion and Holden hit a jumper on the next offensive possession to make it six, 52-46.
 
Tough defense led to just two points for each team over the next two minutes. With about 90 seconds on the game clock, the Rams were struggling in the half court and Kreslina's three-point attempt at the buzzer was blocked. However, she was fouled on the shot and, after a review, hit all three of her free throws to push the lead up to nine, 57-48, what was at the time the largest of the game for Fordham. The redshirt freshman was a perfect 9-of-9 from the line on the day, both career-highs, leading to her matching her career-best of 19 points. Davis pulled down a big defensive rebound on the next possession, was fouled, and hit one of her freebies to make it double figures. Kelley Austria's free throws and layup with 43 seconds to play were the final points for Dayton. Kreslina, Holden, and Mary Goulding hit all of their free throws over the final minute to see out the game.
 
Today was the first time the Rams have defeated Dayton in the regular season since January 7, 2001. Fordham had been successful in three postseason match-ups over that time but none in the months prior to March.
 
Kreslina led the way with 19 points, while Austria's 21 points led all scorers. Holden notched 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting and G'mrice Davis just missed another double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Mary Goulding was tenacious on loose balls and on the glass, matching her career-high with seven boards, four on the offensive end, which wasn't a career-best, to go with six points and three assists over 28 minutes. Hannah Missry tallied eight points and dished out four assists, matching her career-high, as well.  
 
Both teams shot nearly identical numbers, 42.3% (22-of-53) for Fordham and 40.4% (21-of-52) for the Flyers, but it was the Rams' free throw shooting and hitting three more threes than their opponents that were the difference. The league's top free throw shooting team hit 16-of-20 from the charity stripe on the day.
 
Impressively, Dayton was held to just 27 rebounds, the seventh-fewest total by a Fordham opponent this year. The Flyers were averaging 42.0 boards per game coming into the contest. The Rams also tallied more assists (14) than turnovers (10).
 
The three seniors, and four managers, will have one last home game in the Rose Hill Gym, next Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. The opponent is to be determined. The Rams will finish the regular season this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at La Salle.