Women's Basketball Withstands Rally, Coasts to 62-45 Win over La Salle

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team withstood two rallies midway through the contest, one that brought the lead down to one point, and used a 21-9 fourth-quarter to defeat the La Salle, 62-45. The Rams never trailed. With the win, Fordham improves to 13-8 overall and 5-3 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Explorers fall to 9-13 and 3-6, respectively.
 
"I'm really proud of the kids for fighting through a lot of runs against a well-coached and very improved team," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "We showed a lot of toughness and protected our home court. Halfway through conference play with a winning record – defense leads the way!"
 
The Rams led wire to wire in their ninth win by double digits. They started the game brightly with eight unanswered points and several thefts; Kendell Heremaia drained a three to open the scoring following a steal by Kaitlyn Downey. Two possessions later, Anna DeWolfe stripped Kate Hill and coasted down the court for a layup. A steal by Bre Cavanaugh led to a Downey three-point play following a nice feed from DeWolfe. La Salle snapped their skid with a Deja King layup at the 5:19 mark. The Explorers within four twice but Fordham ended the first period with a 5-0 run on a Cavanaugh triple and a Downey baseline jumper with under a minute to play, taking a 17-8 advantage into the second.
 
Cavanaugh began the second quarter with a long-range bomb, pushing the lead up to double figures for the first time, 20-8, but Carley Lytton responded with her own on the other end. Leading by nine, 25-16, the Rams struggled to end the half, allowing the Explorers to start their rally with a 9-4 run. It was a two-point game, 27-25, after Claire Jacobs hit a triple with two-plus minutes to play but Cavanaugh was able to convert a jumper in the lane to make it four. Neither team scored over the remaining two minutes.
 
Neither team shot above 40% in the third quarter but the Rams were able to hold La Salle to just 4-of-17 in the frame to win the quarter, 12-11. Cavanaugh again kicked things off with a three and Heremaia nailed one a couple minutes later to extend the lead to nine, 37-28. That was when La Salle made its move – after two minutes of scoreless ball, Shalina Miller's three-point play kicked off an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to one, 37-36, prompting Coach Gaitley to call a timeout with three minutes left in the frame. Neither team could convert an attempt until DeWolfe found Downey under the basket with 30 seconds remaining. Jacobs was called for an offensive foul on the other side and Cavanaugh's jumper fell through with just two ticks left on the clock.
 
The three captains – Cavanaugh, Downey, and Heremaia, combined for 19 of 21 points in the fourth quarter. Heremaia's layup with seven minutes to play made it an eight-point game, 47-39, but also kickstarted a 17-3 run until a late three by Christina Kline. The run was punctuated by stellar defense and two three-point plays, one each by Heremaia and Cavanaugh.
 
Cavanaugh led the way offensively with 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals over 38 minutes. It was the seventh 20-point game through eight conference contests thus far. DeWolfe and Heremaia each fell one rebound shy of a double-double and tallied one block and one steal; Heremaia scored 13 on 5-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 from deep, with nine boards, and two assists, while DeWolfe handed out a team-high five assists and scored 12. Downey finished with 12 points, as well, adding five boards, four assists, and two steals over 27 minutes. It's the fourth time she's handed out four assists in her career.
 
Fordham shot 41.9% from the field but struggled a bit from deep, converting just 29.4% of its 17 attempts. The Rams held the Explorers to 27.6% shooting overall and outrebounded the visitors, 39-33. The Rams notched 17 assists for a fourth time this year, tied for the second-most this season.
 
The Rams remain at home to host Rhode Island this Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. in the team's annual Kids Day game. ESPN+ and WFUV 90.7 FM will have live coverage.