Women's Basketball Hot From Distance in 19-Point Win over St. Bonaventure

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team led for over 36 minutes in Friday afternoon's 68-49 win over St. Bonaventure, trailing just once in the opening minute. Winners of six of the last seven, the Rams improve to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in league play, while the Bonnies fall to 2-7 and 1-5, respectively.
 
"The kids did a great job defensively and we shared the ball really well," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "St. Bonaventure is always a tough match-up for us. It is always important to protect our home court and we took care of business!"
 
On Sunday, Fordham sank 13 three-pointers, tying for the third-most in a single game in program history and second-most in a road contest. Five days later and the Rams made the same number on one fewer attempt, matching the second-highest total in a home contest. Fordham also dominated the glass, hauling in 16 offensive rebounds out of 36 total, leading to 21 second-chance points, while limiting the Bonnies to just 20 boards. The trio of Anna DeWolfe, Kaitlyn Downey, and Kendell Heremaia, who scored a combined 64 points at Saint Louis, compiled a total of 53 today.
 
The Bonnies kicked the scoring off with an Asianae Johnson jumper that was quickly cancelled out by Heremaia in the paint. Katie McLoughlin's three a few minutes later proved to be all that the Rams would need in the game. The Bonnies closed the quarter on a 7-4 run but trailed, 12-9, heading to the second frame and cut the deficit to one when Johnson began the new quarter with a layup, but Fordham kicked things into high gear from that point on, scoring 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 5-of-10 from distance to take a 37-25 lead into halftime.
 
DeWolfe came alive for three three-pointers in four straight offensive possessions with Downey hitting a jumper in the other, a quick 10-2 run that led to a St. Bonaventure timeout. The Rams maintained a lead of eight or more and Downey's last-second triple made it a double-digit cushion the rest of the way. The lead reached its apex at 19 points through a fourth quarter Megan Jonassen and-one and again late through an open Maranda Nyborg layup following a Matilda Flood pass.  
 
DeWolfe posted her ninth 20-point effort, scoring 23 on 9-of-25 shooting with a career-high five threes, while handing out five assists for the second straight game, also a game-high. Heremaia finished with a season-high 20 points on an efficient 7-of-13 overall and 4-of-8 from behind the arc with eight rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal, while Downey put up 10 points, seven boards, two dimes, two blocks, and a steal over 26 minutes. Jonassen and McLoughlin each tallied six points, the former adding eight rebounds and a steal, the latter a pair of assists, while freshman Matilda Flood went off on the glass over her 15 minutes, corralling six of her eight rebounds on that end.
 
The Bonnies outshot the Rams overall from the floor, 42.6% to 41.7%, but made just 2-of-10 from long range while Fordham hit 13-of-30 (43.3%). Both teams committed 12 turnovers but the Bonnies had just seven assists to Fordham's 18.
 
The Rams' originally scheduled Sunday game against Duquesne has been postponed. The next game on the schedule for Fordham is next Sunday at Davidson, January 31, with a noon tip.