BRONX, N.Y. – Powered by a flashy first half that saw them shoot 57% from the field, Fordham University women's basketball defeated Saint Louis, 79-64 at the Rose Hill Gym Wednesday night.
The win gives the Rams their fourth win in a row to improve to 6-9 in Atlantic 10 play, with now three games to go before the postseason begins. Fordham has now won its 10th game of the year at Rose Hill, marking the 11th consecutive season with double digit wins at home, with the exception of the Pandemic year when the Rams went 8-1 at home and played just 18 games overall.
Outscoring the Billikens 48-22 in the paint, the Rams shot just shy of 50% from the floor for the day, going 32-of-67 as a team, for a 47.8% shooting night, assisting on all but ten of those shots.
A pair of double digit scorers led the way on offense as Emy Hayford tallied 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting (69%) including a pair of threes, while also grabbing four rebounds and dishing six assists. Taylor Donaldson would score 21 along with eight rebounds, tied for the team high, while handing out four assists and nabbing two steals.
Finishing just shy of a double double, Aminata Ly pulled down eight boards as well, including seven on the offensive end, along with a pair of steals. Matilda Flood and Kailah Harris would match each other with eight points and six rebounds apiece, followed by Mandy McGurk with seven points on the night.
Sinking 11-of-17 shots in the first quarter, the Rams shot 64.7% in the opening frame, a high scoring affair that saw the teams combined for just shy of 50 points, as the Rams led 25-21 after 10 minutes.
Starting the second quarter the way they finished the first, Fordham would continue its hot shooting night, sinking exactly half of their shots from the floor and four of seven threes. The Rams defense would also step up in the second, holding Saint Louis to 13 points, and pushing a 12 point lead at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, the two sides would slow down offensively, with Saint Louis cutting the deficit back to within single digits as the fourth quarter began. The Rams would go without a made three pointer in the second half only attempting six, while working their way inside to outpace the Billikens 24-8 in the paint in the final 20 minutes of action.
Closing the fourth with strong, the Rams would tally 20 points in a single frame once again, pulling away late to extend their winning streak to four games heading into this weekend.
Fordham women's basketball heads to Davidson Saturday afternoon for a midday meeting with the Wildcats at 12:00 p.m. in North Carolina.
