Orono, Maine – It was fitting that senior guard
Anna DeWolfe would cement her team's six-point victory, 57-51, at Maine on Thursday night in front of roughly 40 family and friends with a pair of free throws, capping off a 16-point effort in her first collegiate game in her home state. With the win, the Rams improve to 6-4.
DeWolfe and
Asiah Dingle combined for 33 points and Jada Dappa fell one rebound shy of a double-double off the bench, while the Fordham defense kept things close throughout and held the Black Bears without a point over the final 5:38 in the contest to see out the victory. The game was hotly contested throughout with 15 ties and nine lead changes and neither team's advantage ever climbing above five points until the final seconds.
Fordham held a slim 26-24 lead at halftime, finishing with four unanswered points over the final two minutes, first a Dapaa offensive rebound and putback and then a smooth drive and lay-in by DeWolfe. It took four minutes into the third for the Rams to get on the board, with DeWolfe finding
Megan Jonassen under the hoop with a nice feed to tie things back up, 28-28. A minute after a Dingle three-point play, an Adrianna Smith bucket and an Olivia Rockwood three forced Coach Green into using her first timeout down, 36-31, with 2:35 left in the quarter. DeWolfe scored six points over the final two minutes to get within one twice but Maine answered each time, leading, 40-37, heading to the fourth.
In the final period, it was Dingle, Dapaa, and
Matilda Flood who starred but collectively the defense the Black Bears to 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 1-of-8 from distance while committing five turnovers. With 7:57 to play, Maine held a four-point lead, 46-42. On the possession after Dingle drew an offensive foul, Dapaa knocked down an open midrange jumper to cut the deficit to two and then Dingle picked the pocket of Caroline Bornemann, racing down to tie the game up with an easy layup.
The Rams took their first lead since late in the first half with a pair of Dapaa freebies and then it was the graduate transfer again with a two-pointer to take a two-point lead, though it was turn back to the hosts briefly after another Rockwood triple, 51-50, with 5:38 to play. However, that was Maine's final points of the game. On the other end, a miss was last touched by a home player and on the second chance, Dingle knocked down the go-ahead three, assisted by DeWolfe, to go up, 53-51. Five minutes of scoreless action followed, including a pair of steals by Flood and one by Dingle, before Dingle and DeWolfe each hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Dingle led with 17 points, adding four rebounds and four steals, while DeWolfe adding six rebounds and a team-high four dimes, both playing 37 minutes. Off the bench, Dapaa shot 4-of-8 for 11 points and nine rebounds, four offensive, one steal, and one block across 28 minutes, with Flood chipping in five rebounds, three offensive, with two assists and a career-high three steals in 21 minutes.
Fordham shot just 33.3% from the field and converted only 3-of-16 three-point attempts, but hit 12-of-14 free throws and limiting Maine to 37.9% shooting and 5-of-23 from distance. The Rams won the battle on the boards, 42-35, with a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass, and committing just eight turnovers. The team's 11 steals were also the fourth double-digit theft game so far.
The Rams return home to host former associate head coach Angelika Szumilo and Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday at 3 p.m.
