After a loss at home against Virginia Commonwealth University, Fordham Women’s Basketball hosted the Duquesne University Dukes at the Rose Hill Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

The game was close the whole way as the Rams and Dukes hustled for every single bucket. In all, the game saw nine ties and 15 lead changes with neither side leading by more than eight points in the game.

In the first quarter, the Rams struggled to generate offense and relied on junior forward Rose Nelson who scored six of the teams’ first 12 points. The Rams trailed 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. The Rams picked up where they left off in the beginning of the second quarter, missing open shots and failing to come down with much-needed defensive rebounds. In addition, the team also had multiple charging fouls called on them in the first half. The Rams trailed by five at the half after junior guard Chaé Harris knocked down a three-pointer with under 30 seconds to play, making the score 31-26.

The Rams picked up the intensity in the second half, outscoring Duquesne 30-22. Neither side led by more than four points in the final quarter, with the leader changing six times. Trailing by one with 2:36 to play, Duquesne sank a pair of free throws to pull ahead 53-52. When in need of a score, Harris pulled up for a jumper with 1:02 and drained it to give the Rams a narrow victory over the Dukes.

The leading contributors for the Rams on the night included Harris with 15 points, Nelson with 11 points and five rebounds and junior forward Kaila Berry added 10 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Coming off the victory the Rams headed to Ohio to face the Dayton University Flyers. The Flyers got out to a quick start in the first quarter, outscoring the Rams 18-8. But the Rams would not be put away as they closed the gap more and more each quarter. Unfortunately, though they did whittle down the lead, they were not able to take a lead themselves. Dayton held on to win 62-57.

The Rams struggled on the glass, getting out-rebounded 56-34 while allowing 30 offensive rebounds. To win a game in Division I college basketball, you cannot allow an opponent to impose their will on you on the offensive glass. Leading contributors for the Rams were senior guard Taya Davis with 20 points and five assists and graduate student forward Irene Murua with 10 points.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Rams look to go out on a high note on Wednesday versus La Salle and on Saturday against Davidson College.