DAVIDSON, N.C. – Despite rallying back to draw level midway through the fourth quarter, a strong effort by the home side late saw Fordham University women's basketball fall at Davidson, 64-52 Saturday afternoon.
Fordham closes the regular season 15-14, 9-9 in league play, ending .500 or better in league play for the 12th time in the last 13 years, finishing the regular season above .500 overall for the eighth time in the last nine seasons as well.
The Maroon and White will officially earn the the No. 8 seed in the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship, taking on No. 9 seed Duquesne in the second round of the tournament Thursday morning, Mar. 6 at 11:00 a.m.
After a slow start to the first a Fordham rally in the second quarter made it just a two possession game at the break Saturday afternoon in the Old North State. A back-and-forth third quarter was followed by a strong start by the Rams to draw level, before Davidson surged down the stretch to pull away and earn itself a double-bye in next week's championship.
Leading the scoring for Fordham on the afternoon, Taylor Donaldson finished with 17 points and Irene Murua tallied 16 including 7-of-7 makes from the charity stripe, and also paced the rebounding and assists numbers with eight and three respectively.
Donaldson opened the scoring with a trifecta in the first minute of the contest, one of only two makes from the field for the Maroon and White in the first quarter, as Davidson led 18-7 after one.
A resilient effort to start the second quarter saw the Rams start the frame on a 12-3 run, to draw within two in just over three minutes. The Wildcats stretched a two-possession lead just before the break, to lead by six points halfway through the regular season finale.
Trading baskets throughout the third quarter, the two sides kept pace with each other coming out of the locker room, as Davidson kept a six point cushion heading to the fourth, leading 44-38 as the final quarter commenced.
Hitting five of six field goals from late in the third quarter to midway through the fourth, the Rams tallied six points on a Murua and-one conversion and a Harris three pointer in just 32 seconds to tie the game at 48, for the first time since early in the first quarter, with 6:35 to play.
Davidson pulled back ahead on their next possessions, and broke away for 12 unanswered points from there to escape the Fordham rally.
Opening their quest for the 2025 league crown, Fordham opens its Atlantic 10 Tournament run as the No. 8 seed, and will take on No. 9 Duquesne in the second round Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. from the Henrico Sports and Events Center in Henrico, Va.
