Cavanaugh, Davis Lead Women's Basketball to Fourth Straight Win

Box Score (pdf)

Amherst, Mass. – The Fordham women's basketball team used a dominating 24-10 third quarter to race past Massachusetts, 62-51, on Wednesday evening and secure its fourth straight win, 10^th in its last 12, and second straight to begin Atlantic 10 play. With the win, the Rams improve to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in league action, while the Minutewomen fall to 8-7 and 0-2, respectively.
 
"Winning on the road in-conference is always tough," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "This was a hard-fought win with some special performances from Bre and G against a much-improved UMass team."
 
Fordham shot 11-of-20 from the floor in that third frame, 2-of-4 from behind the arc, and outrebounded UMass, 15-4, to carry a 51-40 lead into the final 10 minutes. Reigning A-10 Player of the Week G'mrice Davis scored 10 of those 24 points and freshman Zara Jillings, making her second consecutive start, banked home a buzzer-beating three with seconds left in the period. Davis finished with a fourth straight big double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, six on the offensive glass, while Bre Cavanaugh poured in a game-high 23 points of 9-of-16 shooting, five boards, five assists, and three steals across all 40 minutes.
 
 The Rams struggled initially, allowing Massachusetts to create a 14-5 lead, its largest of the game, with just under three minutes to go in the first. Fordham had no answer for senior center Maggie Mulligan, who scored eight of those points, while shooting just 2-of-8 overall and 1-of-6 from deep over that span. Cavanaugh scored five unanswered points to get within four but Mulligan and Vashnie Perry brought it back to eight with a pair of baskets.
 
After a Paige McCormick three-pointer a minute into the second frame gave UMass a seven-point cushion, the Rams rallied to take their first lead of the contest, 25-24. Cavanaugh and Davis combined for nine of those 11 points during the 5:25-minute run. The lead was short-lived, however, with the hosts finishing the half with a 4-2 run to head into the break with a 30-27 advantage. At the half, Cavanaugh had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and three steals.
 
The Rams exploded out of the intermission and it was Davis leading the charge. The senior forward went on a personal 6-2 run to retake the lead for good, 33-32, and watched as her squad gradually built up a double-digit lead by the end of the quarter. Of Fordham's 11 baskets, nine were assisted on, and the Rams outrebounded their opponents, 15-4, with seven boards coming on the offensive end.
 
Fordham coasted to victory in the fourth quarter, with both teams scoring 11 points, although the Minutewomen began the fourth quarter with a rally to get the home crowd energized, going on a 6-3 run to get within eight. However, Fordham responded with six unanswered points for its largest lead, 60-46 with under two minutes to play.
 
Wednesday was Cavanaugh's fifth 20-point performance and Davis' 12^th double-double of the year. Lauren Holden added 12 points, three assists, and two steals, while Jillings chipped in seven points, four boards, and a season-high five assists. Halei Gillis played 16 minutes off the bench and posted a solid all-around line of two points, six boards, three assists, and two steals.
 
Fordham notched 19 total assists on the evening, one shy of its season-high, to just 13 turnovers, and won the battle of the boards, 41-21, including 17-5 on the offensive glass. The Rams have outrebounded their opponents in all but two contests this season. Massachusetts outshot Fordham, though, 44.4% to 42.6% but the Minutewomen were held to just 2-of-15 shooting from behind the arc, and reached the free throw line just once. Comparatively, the Rams took just three trips to the line, second-fewest on the year, but hit 4-of-5 attempts.
 
Tonight was Fordham's 10^th straight victory over Massachusetts, including all nine match-ups under Coach Gaitley.
 
With her second rebound of the night, Davis moved past former teammate and current Director of Player Development Samantha Clark for second all-time in career rebounds. Davis is up to 959 in her career, close to becoming the second Ram to hit the 1,000 board mark, but is still 1,040 rebounds away from Fordham Hall of Famer Anne Gregory O'Connell.
 
The Rams return home to host Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon, the first game of a Fordham basketball doubleheader. That contest will begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.