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Bronx, N.Y. – The third-seeded Fordham women's basketball team trounced the 14th-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Tuesday night inside the Rose Hill Gymnasium, 75-53, leading by as much as 37 late in the third quarter, to advance to Richmond and the quarterfinals on Friday night. The Rams will play Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m. With the win, Fordham improves to 22-8 on the year, while Rhody finishes its season at 3-27.
"I'm proud of the focused defensive effort the team put forth tonight," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "We need to be ready to be locked-in for 40 minutes to advance!"
The score was just 7-6 at the first media timeout, with each team hitting just 3-of-10 shots over the first five-plus minutes. However, the hosting Rams jumped ahead with a 10-0 run and never looked back. Fordham ended the first quarter with a 16-9 lead and then used a massive 25-5 stretch over the length of the second period to hold a 41-14 lead at halftime. The hosts kept at it, outscoring Rhode Island, 19-10, in the third period, and leading by as many as 37 points with 90 seconds left, but Rhode Island was able to bring that margin down to 22 by game's end with a 29-15 final 10 minutes.
G'mrice Davis led the way with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, and 16 rebounds, plus two blocks and a steal over 36 minutes.
Bre Cavanaugh and
Lauren Holden combined for 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting, 6-of-13 from behind the arc, with the latter matching her season-high of six assists.
Johanna Klug chipped in nine points on 3-of-5 shooting overall and 3-of-4 from the line, while
Mary Goulding posted a nice all-around line of seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and a career-high four steals.
Zara Jillings came off the bench for five rebounds and five assists, while
Ralene Kwiatkowski canned a triple late and hauled in three boards, as well.
Fordham shot 44.6% from the field on the night compared to Rhody's 34.0% mark, hitting 38.1% of its three-point attempts and holding the visitors to just 2-of-14 long-range makes (14.3%). The hosts won the battle of the boards, 42-29, and handed out 19 assists, second-most on the year, although both teams totaled 17 turnovers.
Fordham's 22 wins on the year are tied for fifth-most in program history. Gaitley's Rams now have four of the top-six win totals all-time.
The Rams travel to Richmond on Wednesday morning for their preparation for Friday night's quarterfinal match-up with Saint Joseph's. That contest should tip off, depending on the other three games' finishes, at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on the A-10 Digital Network. The semi-finals will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and Sunday's final will be on ESPNU.
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