Fordham Women’s Basketball continued their season last week and saw two contests that showcased nuanced aspects of college competition. They rolled to a dominant 81-39 win over the St. Peter’s University Peacocks and fell to the University of Maryland Terrapins with a final score of 83-76 on the road just three days later.

Surprisingly, the affair against St. Peters was close for a quarter. The final score won’t show that the Peacocks benefitted from a strong opening frame from Jazmine Carter. The 6’1” graduate student center provided key baskets in the first period that allowed her squad to only trail by five points by its conclusion. 

Quarters two and three were dominated by the women in maroon. Fordham outscored the Peacocks 23-9 and 24-7, respectively. Once the Rams got cooking, they never looked back. Graduate student Asiah Dingle led all scorers with 19 points. Senior Anna DeWolfe and graduate student Kaitlyn Downey were not far behind. They contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively. Also critical to Fordham’s winning effort against St. Peters were contributions from sophomore Colleen McQuillen and graduate student Jada Dapaa. McQuillen posted nine points and two steals, and Dapaa excelled with eight points and nine boards. Team basketball is most effective when bench players can find ways to add to the unit. Fordham has benefitted from this kind of team basketball all year, and last Tuesday’s 81-39 win against the Peacock was no exception.

Fordham’s Sunday matchup in Maryland against the Terrapins had a much different feel than any of their other early season affairs. Maryland Women’s Basketball is a ranked team, and a part of the Big 10, one of college athletics most prestigious conferences. Even with all of the apparent optics, the scrappy bunch from the Atlantic 10 hung in the game. In fact, Fordham only trailed by four with four minutes remaining in the second quarter. Further, the maroon led at the start of the final frame. Strong outings from DeWolfe, Downey and graduate student Megan Jonassen all performed wonderfully. DeWolfe posted a game high of 24 points, Downey finished her evening  with 17 points and three made baskets from behind the arc and Jonassen grabbed nine key rebounds. Also critical, the Rams went a strong 7-13 from downtown in the third quarter. The spurt helped Fordham keep up with Maryland’s offensive attack. Ultimately however, Diamond Miller, Shyanne Sellers and the Terrapin attack was too much to bear. Miller  put up a double-double en route to a 83-76 win over the Rams, and showed exactly the kind of pedigree that Maryland boasts. All things considered, Fordham gave a strong showing against a terrific opponent.

Fordham Women’s Basketball will look to grab two more wins on Wednesday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 20, when they travel to Princeton University and then host Wagner College at Rose Hill.