Dingle's Epic Debut Powers Women's Basketball to 79-71 Overtime Win over Quinnipiac

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Bronx, N.Y. – That's one way to make your debut! Senior transfer Asiah Dingle showed out in her first game for Fordham women's basketball, scoring 34 points with six steals to lead the Rams to a 79-71 overtime win over Quinnipiac on Tuesday night.
 
"Super proud of this team with a hard-fought win over a really good Quinnipiac team that is picked to win the MAAC," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley, beginning her 11^th season at Fordham, said, "Asiah was a highlight reel, Kaitlyn had a double-double, and Millie with nine offensive rebounds. GREAT team win!"
 
In a single game in program history, Dingle's 34 points rank 11^th, her six steals rank seventh, her 11 free throws are fifth-most, and her 13 attempts are seventh-most. At the Rose Hill Gym, those numbers move up to fifth, fourth, second, and fourth all-time. The Boston native shot 11-of-17 from the field, adding six rebounds and three assists over 40 minutes. Reigning Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year Anna DeWolfe netted 17 points with a career-high five steals and four assists, while Kaitlyn Downey posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. Freshman Millie Prior hauled in nine of her 10 rebounds on the offensive end in her collegiate debut, adding seven points, two steals, and a block over 32 minutes while making the start.
 
Outside of a stretch in the second quarter where the Bobcats couldn't miss from the field, including 4-of-4 three-point attempts, to take a 35-30 lead into halftime, the Rams controlled the tempo. Quinnipiac's Rose Caverly hit a last-gasp, well-defended three with two seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime, but Fordham scored first in the extra period and never looked back.
 
Dingle appropriately scored the season's first points with a jumper in the paint after a Prior o-board on the team's first possession. DeWolfe canned a triple on the next possession and the Rams led for the entire first quarter. With a little over five minutes to play in the half and Fordham leading by five, 24-19, the Bobcats started draining shots and ended the quarter on a 14-6 run, missing just one shot of that span. Scoreless for the first four minutes of that run, Kendell Heremaia and Downey went back-to-back with clutch threes to answer Mackenzie DeWees and Mikala Morris at the other end and to keep the game within five points.
 
Quinnipiac led by seven, 39-32, with 8:50 to play in the third when Fordham went on a run to retake the lead that it would hold until the final seconds. Dingle and Prior combined for a 6-0 run before Downey drilled a three to take the lead, 41-39, prompting a visitor timeout. Dingle and DeWolfe produced all of their team's scoring the rest of the period, leading by as much as 10, and taking an eight-point lead into the fourth, 53-45.
 
DeWees and Caverly got the Bobcats within three early in the fourth but a Downey offensive rebound and dish to Prior, plus a DeWolfe trey two minutes later, pushed the lead to eight again, 58-50. Another timely triple dropped for Downey at the 4:11 mark to make it a seven-point contest, 61-54, and then again following three free throw makes by Amani Free with 2:01 on the board to make it 64-58. The Rams could muster just one point through a Dingle free throw over those final two minutes as the Bobcats chipped away and then hit the game-tying basket.
 
Overtime began with a Dingle steal, a Prior offensive rebound, and a Heremaia layup. Fordham kept Quinnipiac at bay the rest of the way by hitting 12-of-14 free throws in overtime.
 
The Rams' shots weren't exactly falling on the night, hitting 35.6% of their shots overall and 34.8% from distance, but free-throw shooting (19-of-23 – 82.6%) plus 30 points off turnovers and 23 second-chance points paved the way to victory. Fordham hauled in 17 offensive rebounds out of 36 total while tallying 15 steals – tied for eighth-most in a single game and sixth-most at home. The o-boards are tied for the third-most in the last three years.
 
Fordham continues the early stage of its campaign with a trip to nearby Seton Hall, who received votes in the USA Today/WBCA preseason coaches poll but not in the AP poll. Tip-off in South Orange, N.J. on Saturday is set for 11:30 a.m.