Women's Basketball Falls to #10 Texas in Gulf Coast Showcase Final

Estero, Fla. – The Fordham women's basketball team's run to the Gulf Case Showcase championship game ended in a 72-54 defeat to #10/9 Texas on Sunday evening. Redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh was named to the All-Tournament team after a team-high 18 points against the Longhorns and an average of 22.0 points over three days. With the result, the Rams fall to 4-3 on the season, while Texas improve to 6-0 overall.
 
"I'm super proud of our kids' effort this weekend," Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "We played tough and fearless. We learned a lot of good things about ourselves. This tough schedule will continue to get us ready for the

challenges ahead."
 
The Rams started out hot, leading the Longhorns, 20-14, at the first media timeout on 8-of-10 shooting, 4-of-6 from behind the arc, and a 5/1 assist-turnover ratio. Cavanaugh, Mary Goulding, and Kendell Heremaia combined for all 20 points. The Longhorns bounced back out of the break, however, and scored eight unanswered points to take the lead but Cavanaugh drilled a buzzer-beating triple to give Fordham a 23-22 lead heading to the second period.
 
Texas locked down on defense in the 10 minutes before halftime, holding Fordham to a season-low five points on 2-of-8 shooting with six turnovers. The Rams were still shooting 52.4% at the half, including 46.2% from deep, but Texas was dominating the glass, 18-8, with nine offensive boards.
 
Fordham won the third quarter, 16-14, limiting turnovers to just two and shooting 7-of-15 from the field but the Longhorns never let their advantage dip below eight points in the frame and were able to stretch the lead in the fourth quarter.
 
The first few minutes of the fourth quarter were slow, with both teams missing their first few attempts and Texas hitting just one free throw. Heremaia picked up her fourth foul on the period's first basket, a Destiny Littleton three-point play, and shortly thereafter Goulding left with an injury that held her out the rest of the way. A minute later, Fordham made its first fourth-quarter bucket on a Cavanaugh three at the end of the shot clock with six minutes to play, 59-47. The Longhorns closed out the contest on a 13-7 run as the Rams reserves came off the bench.
 
Cavanaugh led the way with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 3-of-9 from deep, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal across 36 minutes. Heremaia notched yet another career-high in scoring, finishing with 17 points on an efficient 5-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from deep, 4-of-4 from the line, plus team-highs of six rebounds and four assists. Goulding chipped in nine points on 4-of-6 shooting with two boards and two dimes.
 
Texas outrebounded Fordham, 39-19, with a 16-4 margin on the offensive end. Before tonight's game, the Rams had recorded at least 14 offensive boards and 36 total rebounds in the previous six games. Despite being outshot, 45.5% to 42.6%, the latter represents the second-best clip of the year for Fordham, same with its 34.6% shooting from deep on the night.
 
The Rams committed nine turnovers in the first half, slightly below their NCAA-leading average of 9.7, and finished with 13, tallying more assists than Texas, 14-12. The Rams hit 5-of-6 free throws, all six attempts coming in the fourth quarter.
 
Fordham remains on the road for a Thursday night meeting at Georgetown later this week with tip-off set for 7 p.m.