Bronx, N.Y. – Leading for nearly 36 minutes of Sunday's contest, the Fordham women's basketball team responded with a 15-0 run in the third quarter after the visitors, Princeton, had rallied to take a one-point lead. Ultimately, Fordham picked up its second consecutive win, 76-67. With the win, the Rams improve to 6-3 overall, while Princeton falls to 6-2.
"Great defensive effort against a really good Princeton team." Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "Super proud of protecting our home court!"
Fordham built up a double-digit advantage after starting the game 7-7 but the Tigers were able to whittle it down to just two, 33-31, at halftime. An Abbey Meyers three to start the second half gave the visitors their first lead since early in the contest and two sets of free throws, first by Julia Cunningham and then by Ellie Mitchell, put Princeton up twice more over the ensuing minutes. After that, it was all Fordham, finishing the third quarter on a 15-0 run. The Rams led by as much as 18, 61-43, with seven minutes to play, and 14, 67-53, with just under two minutes to play, but the Tigers, specifically Meyers, sank four triples over the final 75 seconds to make it a single-digit final score.
Anna DeWolfe matched her season-high of 28 points from three nights ago, one of four Rams to finish in double figures. She shot 10-of-17 from the field, 3-of-7 from deep, and 5-of-5 from the line, with three assists, three steals, and a pair of rebounds over all 40 minutes.
Asiah Dingle and
Kendell Heremaia each put up 14 points, the latter one of three players with exactly seven rebounds to lead the squad, and the former with a game-high four steals.
Kaitlyn Downey posted 10 points, seven boards, a team-high five assists, three blocks, and two steals over 31 minutes of action, while
Megan Jonassen hauled in six of her seven rebounds on the offensive glass.
Off the bench,
Matilda Flood had a block and a steal to go with two points and two boards in 19 minutes, while
Sarah Karpell scored four with a rebound and an assist in 25 minutes.
The Rams shot 45.5% from the floor, 31.3% from behind the arc, and 21-of-25 from the free-throw line. Princeton shot 39.7%, 31.8%, and 10-of-10, respectively. The Tigers held a slim one-rebound advantage, 29-28, with more offensive rebounds than defensive. Princeton committed 17 turnovers with Fordham scoring 19 points off of them. On defense, the Rams piled up 12 steals and five blocks.
Fordham is back in action with the 52
nd Battle of the Bronx on Wednesday night. Tip-off against Manhattan is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and WFUV.
