Anna DeWolfe Buzzer Beater Gives Fordham 74-73 Overtime Victory over Rhode Island

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Bronx, N.Y. – Anna DeWolfe's buzzer-beating deep three capped a remarkable comeback and back-and-forth battle with Rhode Island on Wednesday night, giving Fordham the victory, 74-73, in overtime. With the win, the Bronx Rams improve to 17-11 overall and 9-6 in Atlantic 10 action, while the Kingston Rams fall to 22-6 and 13-3, respectively.
 
Prior to her game-winning bucket, she was 4-of-21 from the field. It wasn't for lack of trying; the senior was giving it her all, diving for loose balls, racking up five assists, a career-high-matching five steals, and four rebounds in 43 minutes. Prior to that heave, she was sitting at an unpalatable 1,799 career points. Prior to overtime, it was graduate transfer Jada Dapaa with the last-second bucket to extend the game, the final of her season-high 17 points. Prior to that, Fordham had seen a 13-point lead evaporate. Prior to that, Fordham had rallied back from an eight-point deficit to tie the game heading into halftime. Prior to that, an electric, end-to-end contest tipped off.
 
Rhode Island controlled the tempo for much of the first half, never trailing. An Asiah Dingle layup tied the game, 6-6, in the very early going, and a Matilda Flood driving layup cut the deficit to one, 9-8, a couple minutes later, but the visitors closed the opening frame on a 10-5 run to lead by six, 19-13. At the 2:09 mark of the second quarter, Tenin Magassa converted a look from close range to bring the lead to eight, 30-22, with the two schools thus far combining for just 20 points. Moments later, DeWolfe knocked down her second jumper of the game to that point to start an 8-0 run. Defense would lead to offense on the next three possessions - Dingle stripped Sayawni Lassiter and drove freely down the other end, then it was Rose Nelson to come up with a clutch steal that also led to a Dingle bucket. Finally, DeWolfe intercepted a Maye Toure pass but it was Dapaa to corral a rebound and put it back up to tie the game at 30-all.
 
The Bronx Rams were firing on all cylinders in the third, scoring 26 points on 52.9% shooting, hitting 4-of-8 three-pointers, and all four free-throw attempts. DeWolfe canned a triple on the half's first offensive possession and three other Rams would convert from long range as their advantage grew into double figures. A late Kaitlyn Downey three was answered by one from Toure with just a tick left on the shot clock to make it a 10-point game, 56-46, after three.
 
A Dingle steal led to a Jada Dapaa three-point play with 6:49 left to push the lead to its largest, 61-48. Rhody responded in a big way, whittling the advantage down to four, 61-57, with nine unanswered points until a long Dingle rebound led to a DeWolfe fastbreak lay-in. The respite was brief, howeve,r as Lassiter knocked down a difficult triple and with 1:35 to play, Toure converted an and-one opportunity to tie the game at 63-63. A series of turnovers and steals followed until Rhode Island got to the line while in the bonus, with Anaelle Dutat sinking both freebies with 31 seconds left to go ahead. The hosts were gifted possession thanks to their press as Emma Squires' pass in double coverage fell out of bounds, giving Fordham possession again with 16s to play. Dingle would miss a look but Flood would get the rebound, allowing Dapaa to hit her game-tying bucket down low with seconds to go.
 
The first points of overtime with Fordham's way as Dingle cashed in a layup two minutes in. The visitors would claw back and eventually lead by three, 70-67, after a Sophie Phillips jumper and an Ines Debroise free throw. Dingle would hit again from the paint and Debroise, who was in late because Lassiter fouled out, hit one of her two free throws with a shade under five seconds on the clock. DeWolfe received the ball, drove right wing, and, covered by two defenders, stepped through and hit her shot from about 25 feet from the hoop.
 
DeWolfe finished with 14 points and now sits at 1,802 career points. She also moved into solo third all-time with 230 career three-pointers. Dingle led the squad with 22 points on an efficient 9-of-16 shooting with five rebounds, five steals, and two assists over a career-high 42 minutes. The fifth-year guard is now up to 1,990 career points, 966 at Fordham, with 163 steals with the program, two shy of joining the all-time top-10 in just two seasons. Her 97 alone this year is just three shy of Mary Hayes' long-standing single-season record of 100.
 
Dapaa hit 7-of-15 attempts from the field to go with eight rebounds, five on the offensive end, with two steals, Sarah Karpell scored nine, seven of which came in the first quarter and the final two in overtime, with five assists and three rebounds, and Downey swatted two shots to go with five points and six rebounds. Off the bench, Flood scored seven with three boards, Colleen McQuillen netted a steal and a block in five minutes, and Rose Nelson also notched a steal.
 
Rhode Island shot 43.1% overall, 31.6% from downtown, and 78.6% from the line. Fordham shot 38.0%, 23.1%, and 88.9%, respectively. Rhody outrebounded the Rams, 50-37, with a slim 15-14 margin on the offensive glass, but committed 25 turnovers, tied for sixth-most by an opponent. Fordham, meanwhile, had 14 steals, tied for sixth-most in program history.

DeWolfe's buzzer beater (and Dapaa's earlier game-tying basket) were featured on ESPN's Scott Van Pelt's "Best Thing I Saw Today" on primetime Sportscenter, which can be seen via the link at the top of the page. It was also the #1 Play of the Day. 
 
The regular season ends this Saturday at Davidson at 1 p.m. on ESPN3 and WFUV. Fordham and Saint Louis were the only teams in the top-half of the A-10 standings to win on Wednesday night so the Rams find themselves in a three-way tie for third place at 9-6 with the Billikens and George Washington, though they each hold the tiebreaker.