Fairfax, Va. – Fordham women's basketball picked up its first Atlantic 10 victory of the season on Wednesday night with a 73-64 win at George Mason, never trailing after taking the lead early in the second quarter. With the result, the Rams improve to 10-4 overall and 1-1 in league action, while the Patriots fall to 6-7 and 0-1, respectively.
"There are no easy games in this league." Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "I'm proud of this team because winning on the road is tough. Our tough nonconference schedule is helping us!"
It took until the second frame for things to really get going with both teams shooting around 40% and committing five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, with Mason leading, 14-13, at its conclusion. From the start of the second period until late in the third quarter, Fordham sank 19-of-29 of its shots (65.5%) to lead by double figures for most of that timeframe. Down the stretch, the Rams struggled with their shot, hitting just 1-of-14 attempts over the final 13 minutes, but knocked down 13-of-15 of their free-throw attempts to keep the hosts from within striking distance.
Kaitlyn Downey's layup off a nice feed by
Kendell Heremaia in the second quarter's opening possession proved to be the go-ahead basket. The Rams began the second with six unanswered points, with a Heremaia layup and an
Asiah Dingle layup off an
Anna DeWolfe steal making up the run, prompting an early timeout by acting George Mason head coach Niki Washington. After a couple Patriots buckets, Fordham's run grew to 13-3 with big baskets from Downey, including a pair of threes, to reach double figures for the first time, 29-17. The senior captain would hit another long-range bomb and a pair of makes from
Maranda Nyborg and DeWolfe had Fordham up 11 at the break, 38-27, with Downey scoring 13 of her 15 in the frame.
It was DeWolfe to power the offense in the third, scoring 10 and reaching the 20-point mark for an eighth consecutive contest, with several others helping to an eventual 18-point lead late in the third. The Patriots chipped away and, after another DeWolfe three early in the fourth, the hosts were able to get within nine but no further with four Rams getting to the line for 15 attempts and just two total misses.
Fordham shot 44.8% overall, 34.8% from behind the arc, and 86.7% from the stripe, while Mason was held to 38.6% overall shooting and 30.8% from distance. The Rams did commit 18 turnovers to the Patriots' 15, but won the battle of the glass, 43-37, despite a 16-11 advantage on the offensive end for the hosts.
DeWolfe hit 8-of-23 attempts for a team-high 22 points with five assists, two rebounds, and two steals over 40 minutes. Downey finished with an uber efficient 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 4-of-8 from downtown, falling one board shy of a double-double and adding a team-high three thefts. Dinle scored 14 and
Megan Jonassen ended with 12, her second double-digit effort in the last three games, and eight boards, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. Heremaia dished out a season-high seven assists to go with six rebounds and four points, while
Matilda Flood returned from a one-game absence to haul in eight rebounds off the bench with an assist and a steal over 16 minutes. Nyborg and
Millie Prior also combined for three points, five boards, an assist, and a block off the pine, as well.
Fordham remains in Virginia to play at VCU this Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and WFUV.
