Bronx, N.Y. – 30 minutes of physical, defensive, back-and-forth basketball bled into a wild fourth quarter between Fordham women's basketball and reigning Atlantic 10 champion Massachusetts on Wednesday evening, as the Minutewomen withstood a late charge to defeat the Rams, 66-57, inside the Rose Hill Gym. With the loss, Fordham falls to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in league play, while UMass improves to 14-4 and 4-1, respectively.
At halftime, the score was 22-20 in Massachusetts' favor, with both teams shooting an identical 8-of-28 from the field and a combined 26 turnovers. The Rams shot 2-of-17 from behind the arc over the opening 20 minutes, while the Minutewomen shot 2-of-7.
Asiah Dingle sank the second half's first basket, a three, to give Fordham its first lead since early in the first quarter, but UMass responded with nine unanswered points to force a timeout. The lead would grow to double figures on multiple occasions and the visitors would carry a seven-point advantage, 39-32, into the final frame.
The two schools combined for 52 points on 17-of-34 shooting from the field in the fourth.
Anna DeWolfe went bonkers, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 4-of-5 from deep, with Dingle adding nine points. The duo combined to erase that deficit and tie the game, 43-43, with 7:21 to play, but Destiney Philoxy hit the front end of her two free throws moments later to put UMass up for good. The Minutewomen built their lead back up to eight and maintained it over the final minutes until DeWolfe hit back-to-back threes with under 30 seconds to play to make it a three-point contest, but free throws would see the contest out easily for the visitors.
DeWolfe finished with a season-high 33 points, one shy of her career-high and third career 30-point game, with personal-bests of 12 field goals and seven threes, shooting 12-of-23 overall and 7-of-15 from deep with four steals, also one short of her career-high. Dingle added 18 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and an assist, while
Kaitlyn Downey, with four points, eight rebounds, four dimes, and a block, and
Jada Dapaa, with two points, four boards, and a steal, rounded out the scoring for Fordham.
Sarah Karpell handed out six assists, while
Matilda Flood racked up three steals, two rebounds, an assist, and a block in 23 minutes off the bench.
Fordham finished shooting 36.5% from the field and 23.5% from distance. UMass shot 38.6% and 37.5%, respectively, but converted 16-of-23 freebies. The Minutewomen held a 38-34 rebound margin, 9-8 on the offensive glass, but committed 20 turnovers to Fordham's 19. The Rams did tally another double-digit steals performance, though, with 10 thefts on the night.
The Rams will next head on the road to Saint Joseph's on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and WFUV.
