By Jack McLoone
What’s important to remember is that this team is still hosting a home game in the Atlantic 10 Championships; in other words, things could be a lot worse for Fordham Women’s Basketball. But it was not a particularly good showing on Senior Day for forward G’mrice Davis, with the Rams falling to the St. Joe’s Hawks 52-50 right in a game that came down to the wire. They finish as the number three seed in the A-10, just missing out on a bye. A win – or a Duquesne loss – would have gotten them the second seed and the bye.
The game was preceded by the Senior Day ceremony for a couple of managers and Davis.
“Senior Day is always a bag of mixed emotions,” said Gaitley. “G has grown a lot both on and off the court and will leave her mark.”
Whatever the mixed bag of emotions were, it did not help the Rams on the court in the first half. Conservatively, it could be called ugly. According to Gaitley, it was one of the worst halves her team played the entire season.
In the first quarter, the Rams went just 3-9 from the floor and made one free throw for a total of seven points. In fact, they had twice as many turnovers – six – in the first quarter than they did made shots. The Hawks bailed them out, shooting a collective 5-14 from the field in the quarter for just 10 points, a three-point lead heading into the second quarter.
Things got worse in the second quarter, despite scoring more points than they did in the first. The Rams shot a horrid 3-12 from the field in the second quarter, but got to the line a little more to bump their scoring up to 12 in that quarter.
The Hawks once again converted on just 5-14 shots, so the difference was not too bad heading into the half, with St. Joe’s leading 25-19. But in a game with huge implications, just weathering the storm was not going to do it.
The halftime adjustment was nothing crazy.
“I just encouraged them to settle down and play our basketball,” said Gaitley.
While the Rams’ defense did not particularly pick up in the second half, the offense certainly did. In the third quarter, they doubled up their score with a 19-point frame. This included a 7-0 streak early in the quarter which gave the Rams their first lead of the afternoon.
The rest of the game was about as tight as it gets, with neither team taking a lead larger than three points.
There was a critical moment early in the fourth quarter. With seven minutes left, Davis was called for a block in the lane, despite appearing to be set. It was her fourth personal foul, so Gaitley decided to remove her as opposed to having her potentially foul out with five or so minutes left.
When she reentered the game, about two and a half minutes had passed and the Rams were on top by one. She immediately showed what the Rams were missing without her on the court, scoring on the Rams’ next two possessions.
While it looked like everything was looking towards a fairy tale ending for Davis on Senior Day, it turned more into a nightmare. With under a minute left, she pulled down a rebound under the St. Joe’s basket, but her put-back attempt was rejected. She redeemed herself by hitting two free throws to tie the game at 50 on the Rams next trip down, giving the Hawks to run down the clock before taking what could be the final shot.
St. Joe’s dribbled it out for 15 seconds before Chelsea Woods, who scored 24 points to lead all scorers, drove right at Davis – a generally inadvisable task. However, she converted on the layup, giving Fordham just one chance with a second left.
The ensuing play, which ended up as a three point attempt for junior Mary Goulding from the corner, was a point of controversy. Both Gaitley and St. Joe’s head coach Cindy Griffin were upset with the officiating at times. On the final shot, from The Fordham Ram’s position on the other side of the court, it appeared as though Goulding was hit pretty egregiously on the arm, but there was no call. The ball landed harmlessly 15 feet short and 5 feet low, and St. Joe’s left Rose Hill with a win.
What was shocking was to see Goulding take that shot with the Rams’ leading scorer, Bre Cavanaugh, relegated to inbounding duties. However, that is because over the last three games, she has gone incredibly cold, including just 3-12 from the field (2-5 from three).
“I have been trying to get her to concentrate on other things (defense – rebounding) so she can contribute in different ways,” said Gaitley.
Despite the loss, this team of freshmen has already impressed, and has done so with a very demanding schedule.
“I’m super proud of this team. To finish third with the amount of freshmen – injuries and adversity we have faced says a great deal,” said Gaitley.
She isn’t ready to reflect just yet, however.
“Once we finish our season I will reflect on this special season!”
The Rams will have a chance to keep their season alive this coming Tuesday, Feb. 27, when they take on Rhode Island at home at 7 p.m.
