Women's Basketball Leads Wire-to-Wire in 20-Point Win Over FDU

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham women's basketball made it three consecutive wins with a wire-to-wire 78-58 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday afternoon. As a result, the Rams improve to 7-4 overall.
 
Although the shots weren't always falling, it was still an impressive all-around effort by the Rams, scoring 17 unanswered points to begin the contest, never leading by fewer than 14, and holding a 22-point advantage at its highest. The Fordham defense held the Knights to 36.1% shooting, including a 3-of-19 clip from behind the arc, while shooting 41.4% and 37.0%, respectively.
 
It took a little over two minutes for the game to really get started but Kaitlyn Downey's three to open the scoring proved to be all the hosts would need. Anna DeWolfe hit a pair of free throws, Megan Jonassen laid in an easy bucket on a nice Sarah Karpell find, and DeWolfe knocked down a second-chance triple after a Jonassen rebound to force FDU into an early timeout. The Rams tacked on seven more points, two each by Asiah Dingle and Jada Dapaa and a three by Colleen McQuillen, before Sierra DeAngelo stopped the run with a basket. After 10 minutes, Fordham led, 21-4.
 
The lead reached 20 by the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, 26-6, on another DeWolfe long-range make. Karpell's three a couple minutes later made it a 21-point game and McQuillen's second three made it a 22-point game, the largest margin of the contest. At the half, the Rams led, 36-17. The Knights didn't give up, however, whittling the lead down on several occasions to 14, and even won the third quarter, 24-19, finishing the period on an 8-0 run. Fordham converted 63.6% of its attempts in the third and half of them in the fourth while hitting 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch to insure victory.
 
Downey led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the year, to go with an assist, a steal, and a block over 25 minutes. DeWolfe added 16 points, three boards, three assists, and a pair of steals, Dingle scored 11 with five rebounds, four dimes, and two thefts, and Jada Dapaa contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and a steal off the bench to round out the double-digit scorers. Four of Jonassen's six rebounds came on the offensive end as the grad forward scored seven points with two assists, knocking down her seventh three-pointer of the year. Karpell posted a team-high five assists with seven points and a steal, and McQuillen hit a pair of threes and both her free throws for eight.
 
Fordham shot 10-of-27 from distance, the sixth game this year with 10 or more makes from range. The Rams also shot 20-of-24 from the line (83.3%), both the most makes and attempts of the year, improving the team average to an even 80.0%. It was also the seventh game of 75 points or more, holding a 5-2 record in those contests.
 
The Rams return to action this Saturday when they host Seton Hall for a 2 p.m. tip-off. on ESPN+, SNY, and WFUV Sports.