Women's Basketball Defeats Duquesne, 57-46, on Sunday

Highlights | Photo Gallery | Postgame
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team defeated preseason Atlantic 10 favorites Duquesne, 57-46, inside the Rose Hill Gym on Sunday afternoon to leapfrog the Dukes in the league standings. With the win, the Rams improve to 15-8 overall and 6-3 in conference action, while Duquesne falls to 11-10 and 5-3, respectively.
 
"Really great win over a really talented Duquesne team," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "We put together one of our best defensive efforts in the second half. Great kick-off to Super Bowl Sunday!"
 
The first quarter lived up to the marquee billing with back-and-forth fast-paced action. Mary Goulding drilled a three on the team's first offensive possession, her first of a career-high three triples on the day, but the Dukes answered right back with makes by Kadri-Ann Lass and Paige Cannon to take a brief two-point lead. Kendell Heremaia and Cannon traded two-pointers before Bre Cavanaugh started a 6-0 run for the hosts over the next two minutes to lead by four, 11-7. Out of the media timeout, however, the visitors rattled off a 10-2 run to close out the frame, leading, 17-13, after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Duquesne kept its momentum up to begin the second period, answered Fordham's makes to maintain its four-point lead, 22-18, with 6:19 left to play in the half, but the Rams would go on a lengthy run from that point forward to lead by as much as seven later in the frame and 17 early in the fourth quarter. From that point on, Fordham outscored Duquesne, 39-24.
 
Goulding grabbed an offensive board and dished it to Lauren Holden for a jumper to cut the deficit to two, the last make for either team for nearly three minutes. Goulding drained a three at the four-minute mark to retake the lead for good, 23-22, and long-range makes from Heremaia and Goulding over the next three minutes gave Fordham that seven-point lead, 29-22 with two minutes to play. The Dukes got within two again shortly thereafter but a last-second corner three from Heremaia off a Cavanaugh feed push the margin back to five at the break, 32-27.
 
The Dukes got within three twice in the third period, the latter coming after a Chassidy Omogrosso three with 6:06 to go in the frame, 35-32. Heremaia responded immediately with her third triple of the afternoon, kickstarting a 7-0 run that stretched to 14-5 by period's end, capped by a buzzer-beating Kaitlyn Downey layup following an offensive rebound.
 
Downey started the fourth with another layup and Heremaia added her career-best fourth triple to push the lead up to 17, 54-37, with eight minutes to play. The Dukes chipped away at the deficit, winning the fourth quarter, 9-8, but couldn't get to single digits.
 
Making her 121^st career appearance and 106^th start, Holden notched her second-straight 15-point game to lead the Rams offensively. The senior did so on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind the perimeter, with four rebounds and three assists over 39 minutes. Heremaia busted out of a recently slump for 14 points on 5-of-12 from the field, 4-of-9 from downtown, her most points scored since her career-high 17 against nationally-ranked Texas in late November. Goulding posted another all-around line of 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal, while freshmen starters Downey and Megan Jonassen combined for 10 points and nine rebounds. Bre Cavanaugh matched her career-low of four points but dished out a game-high five assists and added six boards and a steal.
 
The Rams slightly outshot the Dukes overall, 36.8% to 36.0%, including a 40.0% to 33.3% mark from downtown. Fordham outrebounded the visitors, 35-29, including a 12-6 margin on the offensive glass, and posted a 15/13 assist/turnover ratio compared to Duquesne's 8/15. The team's 10 three-pointers are tied for the second-most on the year.
 
Fordham next hosts Saint Louis on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the second game of its three-game homestand. That game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.