It was a banner week for Fordham Women’s Basketball. On Wednesday, they defeated George Washington by a score of 76-69 in front of the home crowd. Three days later, the team traveled north for a showdown with Massachusetts and earned its first road win since the beginning of the season. After all was said and done, the Rams moved to 6-4 in Atlantic 10 play and 11-12 on the season.
Wednesday’s game featured one of the team’s most memorable performances in recent memory. The powerhouse George Washington squad, victorious in its last 12 games before running into Fordham, was simply unable to keep up with the home team. The Colonials shot just 37.5 percent from the field and trailed for all but 30 seconds of the game. Meanwhile, Fordham’s field goal percentage was 54.2 percent, and they made half of their three-pointers.
The Rams were strong from the start. Junior forward Danielle Burns scored Fordham’s first seven points of the game, allowing her team to take a six-point lead out of the gate. She added a three-pointer to push her first quarter total to 10, and by the first buzzer, the Rams were in front 16-7.
The Colonials began to turn things around in the second quarter, cutting Fordham’s lead to just four with 5:27 remaining. However, an offensive outburst from sophomore forward G’mrice Davis provided some breathing room, and another good jumper from Burns put the lead back in the double digits. A timely three-pointer from freshman guard Lauren Holden allowed Fordham to keep it that way as the halftime buzzer sounded. The score at the half was 37-27.
Just three minutes into the third quarter, George Washington had already closed the gap to just four points, but another good shot from Burns with 5:44 remaining ended the 6-0 run. The Colonials kept charging, however, and a three-pointer from Mei-Lyn Bautista put them within one point of the lead. Fordham’s advantage was three at the end of the quarter.
The final quarter started out evenly, but a trio of Fordham three-pointers — one from Burns and two from senior forward Samantha Clark — brought the lead back to eight points. From there, junior guard Hannah Missry took over as the game’s hero. While she failed to hit a single shot from the field, the New Jersey native went six-for-six at the free throw line toward the end of the game. From there, the teams traded points as the clock wound down, and Fordham won 76-69.
With 31 points and seven rebounds, Burns turned in the strongest performance of the game. Davis added 16 points, while Clark contributed 12 points and eight boards.
The victory put an end to George Washington’s 12-game win streak and 17-game A-10 win streak. It also provided some nice closure for the Rams, who fell to the Colonials in last year’s A-10 Tournament.
From there, the Rams traveled to Amherst for Saturday’s contest against Massachusetts. The score remained close for the duration of the game, but Fordham was able to pull through and win by a score of 60-55.
The Minutewomen got off to a strong start, making the first two baskets of the game, but Fordham pulled right back to within one thanks to a three-pointer from Missry. After a jumper from Davis, the Rams took the lead, but they were unable to open up anything substantial. They traded blows with Massachusetts for the rest of the first quarter, after which the score was tied at 14.
Another three from Missry put the Rams back in front, but Massachusetts then went on a 4-0 run to reclaim the lead. Fordham bounced back with good shots from Clark and Holden, and Davis converted on a three-point play to put her team back up by four. Another two points from Davis gave the Rams a lead of six, the largest of the game at that point. The remainder of the first half was evenly matched, with Massachusetts making up some ground. At halftime, the score stood at 30-28.
The Minutewomen landed the first blow of the third quarter, evening the score, but the Rams countered by going on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes of play. The home team battled back, however, and a three-pointer from Massachusetts guard Alyx Stiff tied the game once again. A pair of good free throws from Burns gave the Rams a narrow lead heading into the final period.
Massachusetts pulled even once again within a minute of the last quarter, and the two squads began to wrestle over the lead. A three-pointer from guard Cierra Dillard allowed the Minutewomen to take a one-point advantage (their first lead since the beginning of the second quarter), but Fordham kept pace. A layup from Clark put the Rams back out in front, and a pair of free throws made by their star forward stretched the lead to three with 3:21 remaining. Massachusetts once again cut the deficit to one, but another Clark layup increased it once again.
Rashida Timbilla of Massachusetts was fouled after making a shot but failed to convert on the three-point play. Instead, Clark grabbed the rebound and found Holden, who was quickly fouled. She sank both attempts, putting the lead back at three. The Minutewomen missed a three-point attempt, and Clark, after another board, headed to the line to score Fordham’s last two points of the game. Time expired, and the Rams won it 60-55.
Fordham lost some momentum in the second half of the game, shooting just 32 percent from the field. However, their defense was in fine form and was able to survive Massachusetts’ challenge, holding them to just 35.29 percent over the same stretch.
Clark was the major contributor in the Fordham win, scoring 17 points and adding 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Three other Rams — Holden, Burns and Davis — reached double digits in points scored.
The team will return to action on Wednesday, when they will travel to Philadelphia for a matchup with Saint Joseph’s. After that, they return to the Rose Hill Gym for a Saturday showdown with La Salle.
