Women's Basketball Rides 28-Point First-Quarter Explosion to 10-Point Battle of the Bronx Win

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham women's basketball's 28-point first-quarter explosion allowed the Rams to see out an eventual 10-point victory, 65-55, in the 53^rd Battle of the Bronx, held this year at Manhattan College. With the win, Fordham improves to 5-4 overall.
 

The Rams could barely miss over the opening 10 minutes inside Draddy Gymnasium, hitting 12-of-17 attempts (70.6%), 3-of-5 from behind the arc, and 1-of-1 from the line, to jump out to a 28-15 lead. Things were back-and-forth over the first five-plus minutes, with the game tied, 12-12, at the five-minute mark. Asiah Dingle's smooth layup moments later proved to be the go-ahead bucket and Dingle found Anna DeWolfe for a basket in the paint on the next possession leading into the media timeout. Out of the break, it was all Fordham – finishing the quarter on a 12-3 run, capped by two threes, one each from DeWolfe and Dingle, the latter a buzzer beater.
 
The game slowed down some after those frenetic first 10 minutes. Fordham outscored the Jaspers, 10-9, to head into halftime with a 38-24 lead, as both teams shot below 25% from the floor in the period. In the third, Manhattan scored most of its 16 second-chance points thanks to a plethora of offensive rebounds, to close the gap to eight, 49-41, before a last-second Dingle lay-in, and the two teams would trade baskets throughout the fourth quarter with the margin never dipping below eight or going beyond 11.
 
Dingle, who was named the Battle of the Bronx MVP, finished with a game-high 22 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting, 2-of-4 from distance, with four rebounds, a career-high seven assists, and two steals over 34 minutes. DeWolfe scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, finishing with an 8-of-13 line from the field, 2-of-5 from deep, and three assists across 36 minutes. Kaitlyn Downey finished one point shy of her sixth double-double this year, hauling in 11 rebounds and tallying two assists, one steal, and one block. Megan Jonassen scored 10 points to go with seven boards and a pair of steals, while Jada Dapaa contributed eight rebounds, five offensive, six points, one assist, one steal, and one block over 22 minutes off the bench.
 
Fordham shot 45.0% from the field and 31.6% from behind the arc, while holding the Jaspers to 34.3% shooting and 1-of-11 shooting from deep, their lone make coming in the waning moments of the game. The Rams were outrebounded, 45-35, though, including a 17-8 margin on the offensive glass, and coughed up 18 turnovers, second-most on the young season. The offense did enjoy its sixth game with double-digit o-boards, with 10.
 
The Rams return to action on Thursday night at Maine with tip-off in Orono set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and WFUV.