Highlights |
Photo Gallery |
Postgame
Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Fordham women's basketball team advanced to its third-ever Atlantic 10 Championship game, all in the last seven years, with a 76-34 demolition of third-seeded hosts Duquesne on Saturday afternoon. The Rams set new program benchmarks in A-10 Tournament play in points and margin of victory, while also breaking the single-season record for three-pointers, finishing the day with 251. All three records were previously held by the title-winning 2013-14 squad. With the win, its 11th straight, Fordham improves to 24-8 on the year, tied for fifth-most victories in program history, while the Dukes finish their season at 19-13.
"It's rare that I don't have anything to say, but that effort was incredible on both ends," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "Beating Duquesne on their court was a great challenge and now we have to finish what we started."
There was no slow start for the Rams in today's semi-final, jumping out to a 10-3 lead within the first three minutes, prompting a Duquesne timeout, and a 26-9 advantage over the first quarter. The trio of
Bre Cavanaugh,
Mary Goulding, and
Kendell Heremaia combined for all 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. By halftime, the lead had grown to 46-16, with the Fordham defense holding the Dukes without a field goal in the second period and the Rams shooting 58.6% overall and 62.5% from behind the arc with 10 makes. By the end of the game, Fordham had more three-pointers (13) than Duquesne had field goals (11).
Cavanaugh drilled a three on the game's opening possession to set the tempo and Heremaia followed with one of her own a minute later. Duquesne's Chassidy Omogrosso responded with a long-range make of her own but from that point on the Rams closed out the first quarter on a 20-6 run, making 6-of-9 overall in the frame.
Lauren Holden's three to begin the second period was the team's seventh of the game and 245
th of the season, setting a new record for threes in a season. A minute later and
Zara Jillings knocked down a corner three to put her team up 23. The Rams began the second quarter on a 16-0 run until a Halle Bovell free throw snapped the skid. The Dukes scored just seven points in the frame, all from the line. Cavanaugh hit a pair of freebies with three minutes left in the half and the Dukes were able to close out with six unanswered points from the stripe.
Kadri-Ann Lass' lay-up a minute into the third was the Dukes' first basket since the one-minute mark of the first quarter. Goulding answered with a triple on the other end of the court and, after Connor Richardson hit 1-of-2 at the line two minutes later, hit yet another in response. With five minutes to go in the frame, the Rams extended their lead from 31 to 38 with an 11-4 run, capped by a Holden three with half a minute to go. The lead reached 40 on a Goulding jumper a minute-plus into the fourth, 68-28, and the Fordham bench closed out the game, featuring a pair of buckets and four rebounds by
Vilisi Tavui and a steal and Fastbreak lay-up by
Ralene Kwiatkowski.
Cavanaugh and Goulding each finished with game-highs of 19 points and three three-pointers. The latter shot an efficient 8-of-11 from the field, 3-of-5 from deep, and added a team-high seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists, and two steals across just 27 minutes. Cavanaugh shot 6-of-13 from the field, 3-of-5 from deep, and 4-of-4 from the line, with five rebounds and five assists over 34 minutes. Heremaia and Holden each scored 10 points, the former on 4-of-7 overall and 2-of-2 from deep with five boards, while the latter added three rebounds and two assists. Jillings scored six points on a career-high 2-of-2 from deep with three boards and a block off the bench, while
Megan Jonassen contributed four boards and three assists.
Fordham shot a season-high 54.9% from the field (28-of-51) and a season-high 56.5% (13-of-23) from behind the perimeter, matching the team's season-high for made threes that they set yesterday against UMass. The Rams outrebounded the Dukes, 39-20, and assisted on 16 of 28 baskets on the day. Duquesne's 34 points are a new season-low for a Fordham opponent and fewest since Northern Colorado scored 33 in November 2017.
The regular season co-champions, Fordham and VCU, will meet for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship on Sunday at noon. ESPNU will carry television coverage and WFUV 90.7 will have the radio broadcast.