Dayton, Ohio – The Fordham women's basketball team overcame an uncharacteristically slow start, rallying from a 12-point deficit for the second straight game, but eventually falling, 48-44, as the Flyers converted all of their free throws down the stretch. With the loss, the Rams fall to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Flyers improve to 14-7 and 7-0, respectively.
"Really proud of our kids for a terrific defensive effort," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "Dayton is a tough place to play and is a very good team. Like all games, we will learn from this and apply it to our next challenge. That happens to be right around the corner as we take on our second straight undefeated conference team at VCU on Wednesday."
The Rams struggled mightily from the field in the first half, scoring just 10 points on 4-of-29 shooting, including 1-of-18 from behind the arc. Despite that, Fordham was locked in defensively, holding the hosts to 22 points on 30.8% shooting over the first 20 minutes.
Things started to turn around for the Rams in the third quarter. Freshman
Anna DeWolfe picked off a Kyla Whitehead pass and coasted in for a layup to begin the period. Following several minutes of defensive superiority,
Bre Cavanaugh broke through for a three at the 5:20 mark, sparking a 7-0 run for the visitors that included a Cavanaugh jumper and a
Kendell Heremaia floater. Neither team had a field goal over the final three-plus minutes, with Dayton hitting four free throws to Fordham's two.
Cavanaugh began a torrid stretch to start the fourth quarter with a three on the team's first possession, cutting the deficit to four, 29-25. She would score 10 straight points over four minutes to get within three, 35-32, before DeWolfe drilled a game-tying triple with exactly five minutes to play, 35-35, capping a 10-2 run and prompting a timeout by Dayton head coach Shauna Green. Out of the break, Jayla Scaife saw a jump-shot drop and the hosts built their lead back up to five over the next three minutes. Out of a Fordham timeout at 1:28, DeWolfe came through with a big time three-point play, getting fouled on a driving layup by Araion Bradshaw, her fifth. DeWolfe converted the free throw to knot the game back up at 40-40. On the other end, Scaife's midrange jumper fell and would prove to be the difference. The Flyers hit all 11 free-throw attempts in the fourth to see out the contest.
Cavanaugh shared the game-high with Scaife with 21 points, doing so on 8-of-22 shooting over all 40 minutes. With her second basket, she passed former teammate
G'mrice Davis for fifth all-time in career scoring at Fordham, finishing the game with 1,516 points. Also playing all 40 minutes were DeWolfe, who scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and
Sarah Karpell. Heremaia grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, matching her season-high, adding five points, three assists, and two steals over 33 minutes. Scaife led her team with 21 points and 10 rebounds, though the Rams held their leading scorer, Erin Whalen, to four points and no field goals.
Fordham outshot the Flyers, 28.8% to 25.0% overall, but hit just 4-of-29 three-point attempts. Dayton won the battle of the glass, 45-38, including a 13-10 margin on the offensive end, but committed more turnovers, 14 to Fordham's 12. The two schools combined for just nine assists, six by the Rams.
The Rams have a quick turnaround with their second road game in four days when they travel to VCU on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ESPN+ and WFUV 90.7 FM will carry live coverage.
