Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team fell, 60-56, to Davidson on Sunday afternoon inside the Rose Hill Gym. With the loss, the Rams fall to 13-8 overall and 4-3 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Wildcats improve to 11-8 and 5-1, respectively.
"This was a disappointing loss. We are going to regroup and learn to fight through adversity," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "I believe in this group!"
The Rams led for 32 minutes before the Wildcats rallied in the fourth quarter. The hosts started the game off scorching hot from the field, leading by 10, 14-4, with less than three minutes to play in the first quarter, and finishing the frame up, 17-6, by shooting 53.8% from the field and holding the visitors to just 3-of-14 makes (21.4%). Senior
Mary Goulding had eight points and five rebounds in the opening 10 minutes.
Fordham continued its early barrage, pushing its lead to 15, 24-9, within the first three minutes to prompt a timeout from Davidson. To that point, the Rams had nine assists on 11 field goals and were shooting 11-of-18 from the floor. Coming out of the break, the Wildcats were able to rebound and finish the half on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to six, 28-22, at halftime. Fordham was outscoring the Wildcats, 26-8, in the paint in the first half and were shooting 46.4% overall despite missing all seven three-point attempts.
The two schools traded blows in the third quarter, with the Rams' lead between three and eight during the frame. A three-pointer by
Lauren Holden, the team's first of the day, with 2:33 left in the period put the hosts up eight, 42-34, but a last-second Justine Lyon triple got it within five heading to the final 10 minutes. A driving layup by
Bre Cavanaugh with eight minutes to play was Fordham's last basket over the next six minutes as the Wildcats followed that make with a 14-2 run.
The Rams made things interesting with a pair of late threes, one by
Kaitlyn Downey and another by
Kendell Heremaia, the latter following a clutch offensive rebound by Goulding. However, Davidson's Katie Turner hit one of her free throws to make it a two-possession game in the dying seconds.
Fordham finished the contest shooting 36.8% from the field, including 3-of-22 from behind the arc, hitting 19-of-35 two-point attempts, while the Wildcats converted on 42.6% of their attempts. The Rams outrebounded Davidson, 36-29, including a 12-7 margin on the offensive glass. Both teams committed 13 turnovers but the Rams enjoyed more assists, 16-13.
Goulding led the way with a career-high 15 rebounds to go with 16 points, matching her season-high for a third time. The senior hauled in six boards on the offensive end and also added three assists across 35 minutes. Three other Rams finished in double figures: Holden with 11 and both Cavanaugh and Downey with 10 apiece. All six Rams with at least 22 minutes of court time tallied between two and four assists.
The Rams return to the road this Thursday night to play at La Salle at 7 p.m. ESPN+ will carry live coverage.
