Women's Basketball Uses Huge Fourth Quarter to Race Past Duquesne

Bronx, N.Y. – Things can change very fast on the court; Fordham women's basketball upended what had been a tight, back-and-forth affair with Duquesne into a 21-point victory, 83-62, with a monster nine-minute stretch between the third and fourth quarters. With the win, the Rams improve to 12-6 overall and 4-1 in Atlantic 10 play, while the Dukes fall to 12-6 and 2-3, respectively.
 
Duquesne's Lauren Wasylson hit an unassisted jumper in the paint to cut her team's deficit to one, 43-42, with the two teams trading baskets for most of a third period that included four lead changes and two ties. Moments later it was Wasylson who fouled Asiah Dingle on the other end during a layup, leading to a three-point play and the start of an 7-0 run. Fordham would lead by eight, 52-44, heading to the fourth and never below five the rest of the way, using a 14-0 run in the middle of the fourth to blow the game wide open. From the 2:09 mark in the third to 3:26 left in the contest, Fordham outscored the Dukes, 34-14, shooting 11-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and 8-of-8 from the line with just one turnover.
 
Fordham led, 15-12, after the opening 10 minutes and held a slim 30-29 advantage at halftime thanks to a last-second Megan Jonassen layup. It was Jonassen again to open the scoring in the third with a fastbreak layup after an Anna DeWolfe steal, which was answered by a Tess Myers triple to tie the game, 32-32. Duquesne went up on an Amaya Hamilton bucket and held the lead for two minutes until a series of fastbreak layups switched the lead back and forth, first one by DeWolfe then seconds later Megan McConnell answered on the other end. Dingle's make on the break at the 5:20 mark proved to be the eventual game winner.
 
In the fourth, McConnell cut the deficit to six, 60-54, with 6:53 to play but was answered by Sarah Karpell's triple, her second of the game, matching her career-high. Following another Hamilton basket, the 14-0 run started with a pair of Dingle free throws and bled into another Dingle three-point play, a third Karpell triple, a Karpell hook shot, and two pull-up DeWolfe jumpers to make it a 21-point game, 77-56. Freshmen Rose Nelson, Faith Pappas, and Ashley O'Connor all saw shots fall in the waning minutes, with Pappas' being her first collegiate points.
 
Dingle led the way with her second double-double of the year, posting a game-high 24 points with 10 rebounds, three assists, and a steal over 30 minutes. Karpell finished with a career-high and efficient 18 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from behind the arc, and 3-of-4 from the line, while DeWolfe added 14 points, 11 coming in the second half, with six boards, three dimes, and a steal across 36 minutes. Jonassen also finished in double figures, scoring 11 with a career-high four blocks in  24 minutes. Kaitlyn Downy was also prolific on the defensive end, piling up three steals and a block to go with six points, seven rebounds, and three dimes. Off the bench, Matilda Flood led the squad with four assists, matching her personal-best, to go with four boards, a figure also matched by Jada Dapaa.
 
Fordham outshot the Dukes, 43.2% to 30.8%, including a 40.9% to 17.9% disparity from downtown. Duquesne got to the line more, hitting 17-of-24 attempts, while the Rams knocked down 10-of-13 freebies. The visitors held a slim 41-39 margin on the glass, including 9-7 on the offensive end, but committed 15 turnovers. Fordham, meanwhile, coughed up the ball just six times, tied for third-fewest in a single contest in program history. The offense's 32 field goals are also tied for sixth-most in a game in school history and is the sixth game already this season with 30 or more makes from the floor.
 
In her 97^th consecutive start, DeWolfe crossed the 1,600-point threshold and is now just 20 minutes shy of joining the all-time top-10 for minutes played. Downey played in her 131^st consecutive game, now tied for fifth-most with Danielle Burns ('17), while Jonassen appeared in her 128^th game, now tied with Hannah Missry ('17) for seventh.
 
Fordham returns to action with a premier primetime matchup this Wednesday against reigning conference champions Massachusetts. Tip-off from the Rose Hill Gym is set for 7 p.m. on SNY, ESPN+, and WFUV.