Women's Basketball Wins Third Straight, 54-51, over Saint Louis

Highlights | Photo Gallery | Postgame
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team completed a season sweep of Saint Louis on Wednesday night with a 54-51 win inside the Rose Hill Gym, the team's third straight in league play. With the victory, the Rams improve to 16-8 overall and 7-3 in conference action, while the Billikens fall to 10-13 and 5-5, respectively.
 
"I'm super proud of our team on beating a very good Saint Louis squad," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "We played well in spots but got the defensive stops when we needed them. Great win!"
 
The Rams overcame an early deficit, outscoring the visitors, 30-19, over the middle periods, carrying a double-digit lead into the final frame, and withstood a late charge by the Billikens to pull out the three-point win. Fordham never trailed after halftime.
 
Saint Louis started out hot, holding two five-point leads in the opening frame, the latter coming after a Kelly McMahan three-point play with just over four minutes remaining. Kaitlyn Downey hit her second three-pointer of the quarter to get within two and the Rams closed the frame with an 8-4 run to get within one, 18-17, capped by a buzzer-beating half-court shot by Lauren Holden.
 
Mary Goulding gave Fordham its first lead of the game with a basket in the paint to start the second quarter. The two schools traded baskets for the majority of the period until Kendell Heremaia's corner three with four minutes to go in the half, which proved to be the eventual game winner. The sophomore's bucket sparked a 7-2 run to close out the half, capped by a driving Bre Cavanaugh layup with a second remaining.
 
Brooke Flowers got the scoring started in the second half with a midrange jumper to get the deficit to two but Downey responded with her third triple of the contest to push it back to five, 34-29. Flowers converted both of her free throws on the other end after getting fouled but Fordham responded with seven unanswered points over the next three minutes, eventually stretching it out to a 13-6 run by period's end for a 47-37 lead heading to the final 10 minutes. Cavanaugh, Downey, and Goulding combined for all 16 points in the frame on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
The visitors made things interesting in the final three minutes following the final media timeout. Fordham led, 50-40, before Tasia Jeffries' layup at the 2:51 mark. That bucket sparked seven unanswered points over the next minute. Ciaja Harbison's layup to cut the deficit to three with 1:04 to play prompted a timeout from Coach Gaitley. Out of the break, Goulding was fouled but missed both of her freebies, leading to a full Saint Louis timeout. Harbison converted both of her free throws after being fouled on the ensuing play, making it a one-point game, 52-51, with 22 seconds to play. Cavanaugh, fouled off the ball, hit one of her two freebies but the Billikens missed two attempts in the paint off offensive rebounds, with the ball ending up in Cavanaugh's hands and the redshirt sophomore getting fouled. Cavanaugh hit one of two but, with three seconds to play, the visitors had to settle for a half-court attempt that fell short.
 
Fordham held a slim lead in shooting overall, 36.5% to 35.8%, and on the glass, 35-34, including a 13-12 margin on the offensive end. The Rams hit 8-of-27 (29.6%) three-point attempts but held the Billikens to just 2-of-15 shooting from deep (13.3%). Both teams committed 14 turnovers, with the Rams holding an 11-7 advantage in assists.
 
Downey shared game-highs with Harbison with 16 points, hitting 6-of-11 shots, including matching her season-high of four three-pointers, to go with five rebounds and a career-high three steals. Goulding finished with her third double-double in her last four games and seventh on the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds, plus two assists and a block across all 40 minutes.
 
The Rams wrap up their three-game homestand on Sunday against George Mason. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.