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Postgame
Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Fordham women's basketball team won its 10th straight game on Friday evening, 73-62, over Massachusetts, in its Atlantic 10 Championship Quarterfinal match-up. The Rams advance to Saturday's Semi-Finals and will play either #3 Duquesne or #6 Saint Louis. With the win, Fordham improves to 23-8 overall, while the Minutewomen finish their season at 16-16.
"Terrific team effort with some outstanding individual performances," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "I couldn't be prouder of this group. They truly epitomize the true meaning of 'team'."
After a sluggish start to the game that saw UMass lead, 9-2, at the first media timeout, the Rams exploded for 43 points over the next 15 minutes and led the rest of the way to their first semifinal in three years. The All-Conference First Team duo of
Bre Cavanaugh and
Mary Goulding combined for 53 points on 21-of-39 shooting to lead the way offensively. Cavanaugh set a new season-high with 29 points, while Goulding notched her 10
th double-double of the year and matched her career-high of 24 points. The Rams were on fire from long range, hitting a season-high 13 threes, at a 46.4% clip, and shooting 48.3% from the floor overall.
Coming out of that first media timeout, the Rams quickly took their first lead, 10-9, with back-to-back threes by
Lauren Holden and
Zara Jillings, plus a Cavanaugh lay-up, although the Minutewomen retook the lead and held it until early in the second period. Out of that break, Fordham hit 10 of its next 11 attempts from the field and 16 of its next 23 the rest of the half. Starting with
Kendell Heremaia's last-second floater to end the first quarter, the Rams closed the half on a 32-17 run. Fordham took the lead for good on a Goulding lay-up as part of a three-point play, 20-19, with 8:42 to go in the second. Cavanaugh and Heremaia each hit three triples in the frame alone and Goulding added one, as well. The team shot 56.7% overall and 9-of-16 (56.3%) from long range.
Cavanaugh, Goulding, and Heremaia combined for eight unanswered points after a Hailey Leidel triple opened the second half, giving the Rams a 16-point lead halfway through the period, 53-37. Goulding's offensive rebound and putback closed out the third quarter with a 15-point lead, 57-42.
Massachusetts made things interesting late, going on an 11-2 run over a five-minute stretch to get within six, 68-62, with a little over a minute left. Coach Gaitley called a timeout and Goulding drained a dagger three out of the break, hitting both of her free throws late when fouled.
Cavanaugh matched her career-high with 12 field goals on 21 attempts, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc, with three assists, two rebounds, and two steals over 39 minutes. Goulding scored her 24 points on an efficient 9-of-18 from the floor, both career-highs, 3-of-6 from deep, and 3-of-3 from the line, with 10 rebounds (four offensive), four assists, and a steal over 39 minutes. Heremaia shot 5-of-10 from the field and matched her personal-best with four triples on seven attempts, with seven rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal over 34 minutes. Holden and Jillings each shared the team-high with four assists apiece.
Cavanaugh's four threes move her into ninth all-time in program history, with 135 for her career, and ninth in a single season, with 68. The team is now up to 238 triples on the season, just six behind the 2013-14 title-winning squad for the single-season record.
Fordham will play the third-seeded hosts, Duquesne, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network will carry television coverage.
