Women's Basketball Rallies for 56-53 Win over Rhode Island in Coach Gaitley's 200th Win at Fordham

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Bronx, N.Y. – It wasn't the easiest win of her career, but Fordham women's basketball head coach Stephanie Gaitley's 200^th win with the Rams sure was sweet, coming from behind to defeat second-place Rhode Island on Sunday at home. With a fourth win in a row, Fordham improves to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in Atlantic 10 action, while Rhody falls to 8-6 and 8-3, respectively.
 
"This was such a great team win," Gaitley said, "We showed so much toughness and resilience against a very good Rhode Island team!"
 
After a slow start, defense kept Fordham in the game, holding Rhode Island to a lower field goal percentage every quarter. Rhody jumped out to a 17-12 lead after the opening frame on 58.3% shooting from the floor, but that number dropped to 41.7% in the second, 37.5% in the third, and 29.4% in the fourth on 17 attempts. Although they shot just 30.8% themselves from the floor over the final 10 minutes, the duo of Katie McLoughlin and Anna DeWolfe combined for a 7-0 run to take a brief lead and three different Rams went 6-of-6 down the stretch at the free-throw line to seal the win.
 
Yanni Hendley scored the game's first basket on the first possession and under two minutes in the visitors held an 8-1 lead. Fordham got within one twice in the period, first through three straight baskets inside the arc from DeWolfe, Kaitlyn Downey, and Kendell Heremaia, and then again later in the quarter on a Matilda Flood banked-in three-pointer. Rhode Island closed the frame with four unanswered points, including a last-second jumper from Emmanuelle Tahane following her own steal. The Rams again got within one twice in the second, first through a Vilisi Tavui layup, her first points of the year, and a McLoughlin layup. Both offenses traded baskets for two minutes before going scoreless the final two minutes, with Rhody closing the half on a 9-5 run to lead 28-23 at the interval.
 
It began to look like Rhode Island may pull away when it jumped out to a nine-point lead, 32-23, with two unanswered buckets in the opening minute. Though they would reach nine again shortly after another McLoughlin layup, the Rams finally took their first lead at the end of a 10-0 run. Sarah Karpell drilled a corner triple to begin the run late in that possession's shot clock which preceded a wide-open Downey three. Three possessions later, DeWolfe knocked down a mid-range shot following a Heremaia steal to get within one and then the sophomore broke through with a pair of free throws following Rhody's fifth team foul leading into the media timeout. The lead didn't last long, with Hendley's jumper retaking the lead, but with just over a minute to play, Heremaia found herself with plenty of space at the top of the key and the senior knocked down a long-range bomb.
 
Rhode Island rallied to begin the fourth quarter, taking the lead back through a Marie-Paule Foppossi jumper on the team's first offensive possession. Rhody made three of their first four shots in the frame, taking a 46-41 lead after two minutes. However, Fordham's defense locked in and held its opponents to just two three-pointers and one free throw over the final 7:52, one of the threes a late heave with one second left to play. McLoughlin made yet another clutch basket to start a 7-0 run that was finished off by DeWolfe, the sophomore hitting a tough turnaround jumper in the lane and then a fastbreak three from the wing. The two-point lead was brief, however,r with Marta Vargas draining a three with 3:32 to play to hold a two-point advantage, 50-48. Fordham held Rhode Island scoreless until the final seconds and tied the game up with 1:56 to play when Heremaia, whose shot was blocked, grabbed the rebound and put it back in to make it 50-all. The senior hauled in an offensive rebound on the next offensive set and was fouled by Vargas, hitting both freebies, the first proving to be the game winner. DeWolfe made it a two possession game with free throws with 12 seconds left and, following Muzet's late three, Downey hit a pair of free throws right after. Rhode Island had a 30-second timeout and advanced the ball but Vargas' heave fell short.
 
DeWolfe led the way with a game-high 18 points, doing so on 6-of-13 shooting, including two threes, with four rebounds, two steals, and an assist over 38 minutes. Heremaia finished with 11 points and held the team-high with three assists and three steals, while Downey finished with her sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds, adding two blocks and two assists. McLoughlin chipped in seven clutch points, hitting 3-of-6 attempts, while handing out two dimes and notching one theft over 24 minutes.
 
Fordham was slightly outshot, 40.4% to 39.2%, though the (host) Rams held a 31.8% to 27.3% advantage, both teams taking 22 shots from distance by Fordham making one more. The Rams made 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, while Rhody made just 1-of-2. This was also the first game Fordham did not win the battle of the boards, with both schools tying at 30 apiece. Each team committed 13 turnovers.
 
Fordham will seek to make it five straight Atlantic 10 wins in a row when it hosts Saint Joseph's this Friday afternoon at 12 p.m. NBC Sports Network will carry national coverage.