Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham women's basketball's season ended on Friday night in a 73-64 loss to Bucknell in the opening round of the WNIT. With the loss, the Rams finish the campaign with an 18-11 overall record to go with an 8-6 conference mark.
"Tough finish to a solid season." Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "Hard to say goodbye to this senior class because it's such a great group of kids, they're so great to coach. Anytime you get invited to postseason, you know you've had a good season. Hopefully we can build on this in the future."
The Bison used a 18-2 run midway through the game to lead by as big as 23 points midway through the fourth before the Fordham offense stormed back to make in a single-digit game. The hosts trailed by three entering the second quarter but scored just four points in the frame to trail by 10, 28-18, at halftime. The Rams came alive in the fourth, scoring 33 points, a season-high for a 10-minute span, on 63.2% shooting, 5-of-9 from behind the arc, and 4-of-6 from the line, but the Bison withstood the barrage by hitting 8-of-12 shots, both three-point attempts, and 10-of-13 from the line.
Asiah Dingle led the way with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, adding a team-high six assists and four steals, plus three rebounds across a team-high 37 minutes.
Anna DeWolfe was next with 13 points, hitting 3-of-6 from distance, with three steals, while both
Kaitlyn Downey and
Kendell Heremaia chipped in 10 points. Downey double-doubled with 11 rebounds and blocked two shots, while Heremaia grabbed seven boards and handed out two dimes.
Megan Jonassen hauled in eight rebounds, six offensive, with six points. Off the bench,
Sarah Karpell and
Colleen McQuillen each notched three points, both hitting threes, Karpell adding two boards and three assists.
Bucknell finished with 48.0% shooting overall, 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, and 20-of-28 from the line, while the Rams shot 34.3%, 32.1%, and 9-of-20, respectively. The Rams outrebounded the Bison, 36-34, including a 13-4 margin on the offensive glass, and committed five fewer turnovers.
Heremaia finishes her stellar five-year run at Fordham with 145 career games played, one shy of the program record, with 117 starts, tied with
Lauren Holden for third. She is 11
th with 1,291 points, third with 226 threes, fifth with 796 rebounds, fifth with 3,804 minutes played, and 11
th with 317 assists.
Fordham wraps up a ninth season in the past 10 years with a postseason berth, seven in the WNIT. It's the first home loss during the WNIT in five tries for the Rams.
