Nassau, Bahamas – The Fordham women's basketball team swept aside its struggles from earlier in the game to surge past Lehigh with 20 fourth-quarter points, capped by
Kaitlyn Downey's buzzer-beating three-pointer, 59-57, to wrap up play at the Bahamas Hoopfest on Saturday evening inside the Baha Mar Convention Center. With the win, the Rams improve to 3-5 overall, while the Mountain Hawks fall to 5-2.
"Today was a great way to finish an awesome trip," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "We didn't play well but we found a way to win. Super proud of the effort. Kaitlyn hit two huge threes down the stretch. Great to see different people stepping up every game! We took a step forward from this trip!"
A six-point second quarter from the Rams offense put them in a 31-23 hole at the break after scoring 17 points in the first period, losing their first-quarter lead only to a last-second three-point heave by Clair Steele. After allowing the Mountain Hawks to shoot 53.3% from the field over the opening 10 minutes, the Fordham defense clamped down; Lehigh shot just 13-of-39 the rest of the way. Fordham cut the deficit by two after winning the third quarter, 16-14, and sprinted to its late win by hitting 9-of-13 fourth-quarter shots (69.2%).
Sarah Karpell got the game started with an offensive rebound and a layup in the lane, which preceded an
Anna DeWolfe three a minute later. Threes by
Kendell Heremaia and Downey sandwiched around Heremaia free throws put the Rams up, 13-8, which would be their largest of the game. Their last lead until the last shot came via a Heremaia floater in the lane, 17-16, just before Steele's triple. Lehigh was held to just 4-of-17 shooting in the second, but Fordham struggled to make its own shots, as well, converting just 3-of-16 attempts.
Heremaia kept Fordham within striking distance in the third, pouring in 10 points in the period. The junior started things off with a rebound, a layup, and a block on consecutive possessions in the first minute. Heremaia responded to an Emma Grothaus jumper with a three and cancelled a Meagan Eripret layup with one of her own on the other end. Lehigh continued to make shots in the early portion of the second half as Megan Walker hit a three to put her team back up eight, 38-30, but Heremaia responded with a triple of her own after
Anna DeWolfe and Downey kept the possession alive with offensive rebounds. The Mountain Hawks' lead rose back into double figures following a Camryn Buhr jumper, 44-34, with two minutes left in the frame, but the Rams closed on a 5-1 run to get back within six, 45-39.
Zara Jillings came up with two big plays midway through the fourth to cut Lehigh's deficit from six to two. The junior knocked down a midrange jumper and then stripped Buhr on the other end, passing to
Bre Cavanaugh for the fastbreak layup, making it a 47-45 game. Cavanaugh was instrumental in the comeback, as well, hitting a jumper with just under six minutes to play and then coming up with a steal of her own and driving through traffic for a layup, making it a one-point game, 50-49.
Lehigh would maintain control of the game until the final minute.
Megan Jonassen came up with a huge offensive rebound with just under a minute to play and dished it Downey for her first of two last-minute triples. The three brought it back to a one-point game, 57-56. Fordham gained possession with the shot clock off and had an inbounds play with seven seconds left. Heremaia passed to DeWolfe who faked driving inside only to pass it back to Downey from way downtown with just .01 on the clock as the ball went in.
Heremaia led the way offensive with her second career double-double, matching her career-high of 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 3-of-6 from distance, with a season-high 13 rebounds, plus four assists and a block over 27 minutes. Cavanaugh scored 11 points to go with four boards and a pair of steals, while Downey finished with nine points, four boards, and a block. DeWolfe and Jonassen each scored seven points, the former tallying a team-high five assists and two steals, the latter adding five boards. Jillings played a season-high 16 minutes and hit 2-of-3 shots for four points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Fordham returns to the States for the annual Battle of the Bronx this Thursday night, hosted by Manhattan at 7 p.m.
