NEW YORK – A fourth quarter surge Saturday night saw Fordham University women's basketball double their scoring output from the previous three quarters, sending the game to overtime, before falling to Saint Louis 59-53 in the extra period.
After scoring just 23 points in the first 30:50 of the contest, the Maroon and White tallied 26 points in the final 9:10 of regulation to level the score. Trailing by 14 points with under six minutes to play, Fordham tallied 14 straight points in a span of 2:53 to even the score at 43 down the stretch.
Taylor Donaldson sank the game tying bucket with 28 seconds to play on a contested jumper off the glass, and the Rams held Saint Louis off the board in the closing seconds, preventing them from getting a shot off before the horn to send the game to overtime.
That extra period saw a flurry of free throws and just a single make from the floor, with the Billikens scoring the final seven points Saturday night to erase a three-point Fordham lead. The Maroon and White drop consecutive games for just the second time this season, falling to 12-9 on the year and 6-4 in A-10 play.
Donaldson led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals, as the only Ram to finish in double figures, followed by eight apiece from both Irene Murua and Chaé Harris. Leading the rebounding effort with eight on the night was Anastasija Veljovic with eight, ahead of seven from Murua and six each from both Donaldson and Kaila Berry.
As a team, Fordham pulled down 55 total rebounds, their most in a game since last year's season opener with 55 on Nov. 4, 2023 against Adelphi. The Rams collected offensive rebounds in the process, their most boards on the offensive glass since 30 against Dartmouth way back on Nov. 26, 2003.
A low scoring affair throughout the first half, the two sides were deadlocked at just eight apiece through ten minutes of action. The Rams outrebounded Saint Louis 13-8 in the opening frame, and for the half led 29-20 on the glass.
Fordham amassed just four points in the second quarter, but limited the Billikens to just three makes from the floor, and found themselves trailing by just six, 18-12 at halftime.
Saint Louis went on a quick run out of the locker room, ahead of Donaldson cutting into it by sinking the Rams' first three pointer in almost two full games just over two minutes into the half, after last making one in the third quarter of a Jan. 25 win over St. Bonaventure. The Billkens continued to push their lead as the quarter came to a close, leading 35-23 heading to the fourth.
Maintaining a double-digit gap for much of the final quarter, Saint Louis went up 43-29 with 6:17 to play, ahead of a resurgent run by the Maroon and White who tallied 14 unanswered points to even the score at 43 apiece with 2:54 to go.
The Rams pulled ahead for the first time since early in the first quarter on a pair of Harris free throws, but Saint Louis leveled the score and held the ball with the shot clock off. Stepping up on the defensive end, Fordham did not allow the Billikens to get off a shot before time expired, sending the game to overtime level at 49-all.
Scoring four of the first five points of the extra period from the charity stripe, Fordham pulled ahead 53-50, but saw Saint Louis record the final seven points, five of which came from the free throw line as well to set the final scoreline.
Fordham closes the backend of this two-game road trip Tuesday night in the Nation's Capital when they take on George Washington at 7:00 p.m. in Washington D.C.
