Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Fordham women's basketball team used an 11-0 run over the final five minutes to rally and defeat Duquesne on the road, 59-52, on Saturday afternoon. With the win, their third straight, the Rams improve to 16-5 overall and 7-2 in Atlantic 10 action, while the Dukes fall to 9-13 and 4-6, respectively.
"We showed super toughness against a very good Duquesne team." Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "We gutted it out and were able to show our best defense in the 4
th quarter, which is something we have been working on. Today was a step in the right direction!"
Led by Fatou Pouye's 10 points, Duquesne's offense was blistering hot to begin the game, scoring 14 points in the opening 5:31 and racking up its largest lead of the game, 19-8, late in the opening period before a
Kendell Heremaia triple made it 19-11 after 10 minutes of action. The hosts converted on half of their shots in the frame to Fordham's 26.7%. However, the Rams regrouped during the break and used a 15-6 run to take their first lead, 26-25, late in the first half, in part due to five offensive rebounds and five points off Duquesne turnovers.
An
Asiah Dingle three cut the deficit to five and Heremaia bullied her way in for two more to get within three but the Dukes hit back with four quick points. This time it was
Anna DeWolfe with a fastbreak jumper and then a
Kaitlyn Downey three to get within two, 25-23, at the media timeout. Out of it, three successive offensive rebounds led to an eventual Dingle jumper to knot the game up, 25-25. However, after Heremaia's free throw to take the lead, the Dukes would close the half on a 3-0 run to take a slim 28-26 lead into the interval.
Duquesne was quick out of the gate in the third quarter with a 9-4 run, prompting a Fordham timeout. Out of the media,
Megan Jonassen's offensive board led to another Dingle triple. Moments later, Heremaia stole a Pouye pass that led to a Dingle layup on the break to get back within two, 37-35. Later in the third, after the second media timeout, Fordham used a 9-4 run, a Downey three and midrange jumper and a pair of Dingle makes, to tie the game back up, 44-44, but a late Libby Bazelak freebie put the hosts up by one heading to the final frame.
Fordham retook the lead with two lightning-quick baskets – Heremaia with a tough layup then stealing another Pouye pass to feed
Matilda Flood who fed Dingle on the break, 48-47. After the final media timeout, Duquesne took the lead back through Pouye, who converted a three-point play, then laid another in from Amaya Hamilton to make it a four-point game, 52-48, with 5:14 to play. From that point on it was all Rams.
A minute later, DeWolfe intercepted a Laia Sole pass and converted on the other end to get back within two. Fordham's defense continued to shut Duquesne's offense down although the offense was unable to convert its chances over the next two minutes. Out of a Fordham timeout, Dingle grabbed Downey's miss and laid it back up to tie the game back up at 52-52 with 1:54 to play. On the other end, Hamilton attempted a three and the rebound caromed out to the three-point arc where Dingle was waiting, feeding DeWolfe on the break for the go-ahead bucket. A Sole missed jumper gave Fordham an opportunity for a dagger and it was Heremaia in the corner in front of the visiting bench and crowd to seal it with a triple. A pair of Dingle free throws later and the Rams had their fifth road win of the season.
Dingle led the Rams in nearly every category – amassing 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep and 6-of-7 from the line, with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals across all 40 minutes. Heremaia finished with 15 points, five boards, two dimes, and a pair of steals, while DeWolfe added 13 points, three boards, three assists, and two assists. Downey, with five points, three offensive boards, and three dimes, and Jonassen, with two points and two o-boards, rounded out the scoring. Off the bench, both Flood and
Sarah Karpell chipped in four rebounds, three coming on the offensive glass.
Duquesne outshot the Rams, 47.7% to 34.3%, including a mark of 33.3% to 23.1% from behind the arc, and won the battle of the boards, 36-33, though Fordham finished with just one fewer offensive rebound (16) than defensive. The Dukes committed 20 turnovers, as well, to the Rams' eight. Fordham scored 18 points off turnovers and racked up 12 second-chance points.
Fordham next plays at Rhode Island next Sunday, February 13, at 1 p.m. in a clash of two of the top teams in the Atlantic 10.
