Momentum is a fickle thing. Despite coming off just their second conference win the weekend prior, Fordham Women’s Basketball was immediately confronted with one of the toughest portions of their Atlantic 10 schedule.
Taking on George Mason University and the University of Richmond, the Rams were faced with the unenviable challenge of road battles against two of the A-10’s best.
While the Rams had shown signs of positive growth leading into the week, matchups against the second- and third-place teams in the conference would prove to be too much for Fordham to handle, as they dropped both games despite stretches of very competitive basketball.
Awaiting the Rams in Virginia on Wednesday were the 16-3 George Mason Patriots, riding an A-10 best six-game winning streak. Despite their struggles on the road this season, Fordham brought some of the good vibes from their home win on Saturday to Fairfax County, opening the contest with a strong first half of basketball. The Rams held a lead for nearly 10 minutes of game time throughout the first half and carried a 25-24 lead into halftime.
Things quickly unraveled in the second half as the Patriots jumped out on a 9-0 run to open the second half, taking a double-digit lead into the final frame as they outscored the Rams 19-8 in the third quarter. Fordham showed a bit more spark in the fourth, but George Mason did enough to edge away with the 54-47 victory.
Donaldson finished with a game-high 24 points, more than half of the team’s scoring, continuing a prominent narrative that has persisted throughout the season. With 13 points in the first half and 11 in the second, Donaldson was responsible for over 50% of Fordham’s scoring in each half. The next highest output came from graduate student Emy Hayford, who managed just six points. It was a disappointing step back for the Fordham offense and particularly Hayford, who had begun to help shoulder the offense, reaching double figures in seven straight games prior and averaging 18.0 PPG in her last three contests.
On the defensive side, however, there was plenty to be proud of. George Mason entered play as the A-10’s top scoring offense with 75.1 PPG. Fordham held them to 54, their second lowest output of the season and their fewest points recorded in a win this year.
The Rams weren’t quite done in Virginia, traveling 100 miles south to Richmond for a matchup against the 18-4 Spiders. Boasting the best NET ranking in the A-10 and four players averaging double figures, Richmond has a major claim to being the best team in the conference.
Unsurprisingly, Richmond came out of the gates strong, putting up 27 to Fordham’s 15 in the first quarter. But once again, the Rams put up a strong first half effort, holding the Spiders scoreless for seven straight minutes in the second quarter while rattling off 11 straight points, tying the game at 31 with a Donaldson three-pointer. Richmond’s Grace Townsend put the Spiders back up by two in the final seconds of the first half, but Fordham still found themselves in a very competitive position.
Hayford would give the Rams a two-point lead early in the third quarter, but neither side could gain a commanding edge. That was until Rachel Ullstrom single-handedly turned the tide, nailing two three-pointers in the final minute to give Richmond a 10-point lead entering the final quarter of play. The late surge took much of the wind out of Fordham’s sails. Richmond continued to add to their lead in the fourth, going up by as much as 20.
The Rams would ultimately fall 79-60, getting outscored by Richmond 46-29 in the second half. Fordham did not enjoy the same defensive success they had against George Mason, allowing over 20 points in three of the four quarters. Outside of their second quarter where they were held to six points on 27% shooting, Richmond shot 65% from the field and 63% from beyond the arc. Head coach Bridgette Mitchell switched to a man-to-man defense on Saturday in hopes of limiting Richmond’s success from beyond the arc, but to no avail as the Spiders ran away with the game in the second half thanks to their proficient three-point shooting.
The Fordham offense returned to a much better form, led once more by Donaldson with 23 points, including five threes made. More notable was a bounceback of 16 points from Hayford and eight points from sophomore Rose Nelson, who attempted a career-high 10 shots. It’s an aggressiveness that Nelson hasn’t displayed consistently, but it would certainly be welcome moving forward. Fordham has been searching for scoring depth all season long and the 6-foot-1 Nelson could provide a much needed boost to an offense marred with inconsistency.
To chalk up these two losses to another pair of moral victories would be redundant and tiring for all those involved. At the same time, it can’t be completely meaningless that Fordham managed to be competitive for stretches against two of the best teams in the conference.
Note the key word “for stretches.” The big separator between Fordham and many of the A-10’s top competitors is the ability to play a complete game. The Rams led at the half against George Mason and trailed by two versus Richmond, but suffered second-half collapses to varying degrees. Fordham was outscored by a combined 25 points in the second half this week. It’s one thing to play a close half against a good team — it’s quite another to play a complete four quarters. That’s something that the Rams are clearly still working towards.
With the two road losses, Fordham is now 0-10 on the road and 7-15 overall. At 2-9 in conference, the Rams sit at 11th place in the A-10. The upper echelon of the A-10 has built up a significant cushion, but a jump up to the middle of the pack is still plausible.
For what it’s worth, Fordham has played some of their best basketball since the bye week. While the last few weeks have presented quite the gauntlet, the Rams now enter one of the softer stretches of their schedule. Five of the next seven matchups leading into the A-10 tournament come against teams with a sub .500 record in conference play. If there’s any time for a run, it’s now or never.
The Rams return to Rose Hill for a pair of home games, taking on Dayton University on Wednesday and the University of Massachusetts on Saturday.
