Women's Basketball Brushes Aside Michigan State

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Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham women's basketball picked up its biggest win of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating RV/RV Michigan State, 71-68. With the win, the Rams improve to 3-1 on the year, while the Spartans fall to 4-1.
 
"An incredible win over a really good Big Ten team." Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "Kaitlyn and Anna had big numbers but everyone contributed to a GREAT team win!"
 
Down two at the half, the Rams used a 21-9 third-quarter push to surge past the Spartans and held on as the visitors rallied with a pair of late threes, sinking 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the game. Anna DeWolfe and Kaitlyn Downey each scored 24 points, the latter matching her career-high, with Asiah Dingle chipping in 13 and Kendell Heremaia adding eight.
 
DeWolfe matched her career-high with 11 field goals and added four assists over all 40 minutes. Downey shot 10-of-17, including 4-of-9, with six boards, three blocks, and two steals over 30 minutes. Heremaia led the squad with five assists, while Megan Jonassen was massive on the glass, securing eight of her 10 rebounds on the offensive end. Sarah Karpell played 27 minutes off the bench and contributed four boards and three dimes.
 
The two schools traded points in a fast-paced first quarter. Michigan State took a four-point lead, 18-14, with 90 seconds to play in the period, but the Rams closed to within one via free throws from DeWolfe and Heremaia. DeWolfe started the second with a jumper to retake the lead and Downey extended it to six with a personal 5-0 run. The two teams traded threes, two each, and the Spartans went ahead again on a pair of Alyza Winston baskets, taking a 35-33 lead into the interval.
 
Through four-plus minutes of the second half, the two schools had combined for just six points, with Michigan State up four, 39-35. Millie Prior cut that deficit in half with a nice lay-in from a Heremaia feed, but Moira Joiner put the Spartans up five, their largest lead of the game, 42-37. A minute later, Downey knocked down a clutch three and Dingle floated in a basket to tie the game up at 42 and Michigan State called for a timeout. Out of the break, it was all Fordham, with Downey draining back-to-back triples and DeWolfe, Dingle, and Heremaia combining to push the lead to double figures for the first time, 54-44, with seconds left in the quarter. Following the Joiner three, the Rams finished the period on a 17-2 run.
 
The Spartans started the fourth fast, cutting the deficit down to four at the 7:36 mark, forcing Coah Gaitley to use a timeout. DeWolfe hit a jumper following the media timeout as her, Downey, and Dingle combined to respond to any Michigan State points. Winston converted an and-one play but DeWolfe again came through, knocking down a jumper in space. Around free throw makes down the stretch, Clouden drained two last-gasp three-pointers to get within three and two, but Heremaia and Dingle saw the game out from the line.
 
Fordham shot 45.2% from the field, 5-of-15 from behind the arc, and 10-of-13 from the line, while the Spartans converted 48.2% overall and hit 42.9% from distance. The Rams won the battle of the boards, 32-29, with 15 offensive boards and had 16 assists on 28 makes, but struggled a bit with 17 turnovers.
 
The Rams now travel out of the country for the Cancun Challenge later this week where they'll play nationally ranked Baylor plus Houston and Arizona State from Friday-Sunday.