Women's Basketball Notches Fourth Straight Win, 64-53, over George Mason

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win with a 64-53 defeat of George Mason inside the Rose Hill Gym on Sunday afternoon. The defense notched 15 steals, the program's most since 2013, and the offense hit 10 three-pointers. With the win, the Rams improve to 17-8 overall and 8-3 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Patriots fall to 12-11 and 4-6, respectively.
 
"Super finish to a great all-around day!" Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "Alumni Day, Think Pink, and Women in Sports Day, plus a win against a really good Mason team. Thanks to everyone for a great team effort!"
 
Fordham's defense forced the visitors into 20 turnovers on the day, scoring 21 points off of them and notching 15 steals, the team's most since the 2012-13 squad had 14 at Rhode Island on February 21^st, 2013. The Rams offense went on two surges in the first half to establish a double-digit lead, first with nine unanswered points over the final five minutes of the opening period and then a 12-4 run to take an 11-point lead into the break.
 
The Patriots were in a groove early, hitting their first four shots of the contest to lead, 8-4, after two minutes. Threes by Mary Goulding and Kaitlyn Downey around a Jacy Bolton jumper knotted the game up at 10 apiece and Fordham would take the lead for good a minute later on a Goulding layup, 12-11, sparking that 9-0 run. Bre Cavanaugh drained a three for her first basket of the contest, converted a tough layup in traffic, and then fed Megan Jonassen off a steal for an easy lay-in to cap the scoring. After the first 10 minutes, the Rams had seven steals and had force George Mason into nine turnovers.
 
George Mason chipped away at the deficit, getting within two, 23-21, at the 4:20 mark following a Bolton layup but Lauren Holden answered on the other end with a three, her first points of the game. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary hit a jumper to cut the margin to three but Cavanaugh sparked a run with a three. On the next trip down the court, Holden nailed on, as well, to put the hosts up nine, 32-23. Cavanaugh then added two more triples over the final minute to give Fordham a 38-27 lead at the half.
 
The Patriots never got within eight the rest of the way. Goulding scored seven in the third quarter while the team notched four more steals and committed just one turnover. The Rams struggled from the field in the fourth but kept the game out of reach with 6-of-8 makes from the free-throw line down the stretch.
 
Cavanaugh led the way with 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-11 from deep, her eighth 20-point effort of the campaign. She is now at 989 career points. Goulding matched her career-high with 19 points, hitting 7-of-13 shots, 3-of-4 from the line, with two threes, to go with seven rebounds, a career-high-tying four steals, and a pair of assists across all 40 minutes. Lauren Holden had a game-high five assists to go with her eight points and two steals, as well. Kendell Heremaia tallied five points, four boards, three assists, and three steals over 29 minutes, while Zara Jillings and Megan Jonassen combined for six points, five boards, and three steals off the bench.
 
The Rams were outshot on the day, 46.5% to 43.6%, and outrebounded, 27-24, just the fifth time this year they have been beaten on the glass. Fordham notched 13 assists on 24 baskets and committed just 10 turnovers, their fewest number in a month.
 
Fordham is at Davidson on Wednesday night, February 13^th, its first of two straight road contests this week. Tip-off from Belk Arena is set for 7 p.m.