BRONX, N.Y. – Keeping within reach for much of the afternoon, the visiting Black Bears held off a late rally by Fordham University women's basketball, which fell 74-62 Saturday afternoon.
Following a career-high 35 point performance earlier in the week, Taylor Donaldson led the way for the Rams once again, tallying 21 points with a trio of shots from beyond the arc on the day. Donaldson was one of four players in double figures for the home side as Emy Hayford totaled 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting. Taya Davis and Matilda Flood would tally 10 points and three assists apiece while also leading the rebounding efforts with seven and five respectively.
The Rams also forced the Black Bears into their second-highest turnover number, while committing just seven as a team for the game, the lowest output in a game this season, while also dishing out 11 assists on 21 makes from the field. Fordham also allowed just two fast break points and tallied 15 of their own.
The two sides would keep it close in the opening stages, trading bucket for bucket leading into the media timeout, and would only be separated by a pair of late makes from Maine who would hold the lead after one. A defensive minded second quarter saw just 21 points scored between the two sides, with the difference being a single three pointer to give the Black Bears a 10-point lead at the break.
Maine would bolster its lead midway through the second frame, leaving the Rams to battle back, which they did in resounding fashion late out of a timeout, as the home team cut the deficit back to 10 just before the end of the frame.
Entering the fourth the Rams kept the game within that margin, despite Maine attempting on multiple occasions to put the game out of reach. Donaldson would sink a corner three and draw a foul to force the media timeout with just under five minutes to play, out of which she would cut the deficit to eight. Continuing to trade points down the stretch, the Black Bears kept the game just out of reach, taking the victory Saturday afternoon.
Fordham women's basketball will now embark on a four-game road trip that will see them play three of those dates in the next eight days. The Rams will open Atlantic 10 play next time out, taking on Duquesne in Pittsburgh Tuesday night, a quick dip into conference play before a pair of games at MAAC opponents Thursday at Siena and a trip to Fairfield Sunday afternoon.
