Women's Basketball Downs Southern, 65-52, for Fourth Straight Win

Box Score Highlights

Bronx, N.Y. – Behind 24 points each from team captains Bre Cavanaugh and Kendell Heremaia and a defense that kept its opponent below 40.0% shooting for a seventh consecutive contest, the Fordham women's basketball team defeated Southern, 65-52, on Saturday afternoon inside the Rose Hill Gym. With the victory, the Rams' sixth in their last seven games and fourth straight, they improve to 6-5 overall on the year, while the Jaguars fall to 2-6.
 
"It's great to get a game in the right column going into the break." Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "I saw some good things and things to work on – we're heading in the right direction as conference play approaches!"
 
Southern rallied late in the first quarter and into the second, taking a brief 24-22 lead, but the Rams closed the first half with an 8-2 run and coasted to the 13-point win, leading by as much as 16 in the second half. Cavanaugh and Heremaia combined for 48 points on 14-of-24 shooting, with both juniors hitting four triples. The duo scored Fordham's first 13 points of the game and 25 of the team's 30 first-half points.
 
Following a Heremaia offensive rebound on the game's first possession, Cavanaugh drew a shooting foul and converted both of her free-throw attempts. On the next trip down the lane, Cavanaugh drilled a three. Southern would tie the game at 7-7 but the Rams rattled off nine unanswered points, with Anna DeWolfe capping the run with a three. Southern began the second quarter with three straight baskets inside the arc to take its second and final lead of the contest. It was lasted just 23 seconds, however, as Kaitlyn Downey found Heremaia for an easy lay-in under the basket. Downey provided the go-ahead basket 90 seconds later with a putback layup. Cavanaugh added a three and a free throw to give the hosts a six-point advantage at the intermission.
 
The Jaguars would get within four once, 38-34, in the third, but Heremaia hit a three on the other end. From that point on, the Rams closed the third on a 10-4 run and won the fourth frame, 17-14.
 
Heremaia's 24 points came on an efficient 8-of-12 from the field, 4-of-6 from distance, and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, adding eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block across 35 minutes. Cavanaugh shot 6-of-12 overall, 4-of-8 from behind the arc, and hit a season-high 8-of-10 freebies. She added four assists, two rebounds, and a steal over 38 minutes. Downey swatted a career-high four shots to go with nine points, four boards, four dimes, and a steal in 29 minutes, while DeWolfe rounded out the scoring with eight points plus four boards and an assist. Sarah Karpell was held scoreless, taking just two shots, but handed out a game-high five assists and notched a steal.
 
Fordham shot 42.9% overall from the field, 37.9% from distance (11-of-29), and 12-of-14 from the line. It's the sixth game this year the team's shot 40.0% or better and the fourth time with double-digit triples. The 12 free throws are the second-most this season for the Rams, who are now shooting 78.0% on the year. The Jaguars did win the battle of the boards, however, 30-24, but the Rams tallied 17 assists to the visitors' nine, tied for the second-highest number this season for Fordham. Both teams committed 14 turnovers.
 
During the game, Cavanaugh moved up to seventh all-time at Fordham with 1,344 career points, passing Denise Hammersley ('95). Next up is Nicole Williams ('92) with 1,422. She also moved past Maureen Garvey ('01) into seventh all-time, as well, with 162 career three-pointers. 
 
The Rams return to action in two weeks with the 13^th annual Fordham Holiday Classic. They will kick things off against Samford at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 29, and will face either Hofstra or Houston the following day depending on results. Only Fordham's games will be televised on ESPN+.