The holiday season often brings much travel and an increased sense of self. For the average individual, this time of year typically warrants a trip “home” that reminds them of just who they are. For Fordham Women’s Basketball however, it was a stretch of both home and away affairs that allowed for the proper self assessment. The Rams split east coast games against Princeton University and Wagner College before shipping off to the Las Vegas Holiday Classic where they did the same against relatively nuanced opponents, the University of Washington and the University of South Dakota. 

Coming off of Nov. 17’s loss to a nationally ranked Maryland team, Fordham traveled to New Jersey for a bout with Princeton that they would ultimately lose by a final of 70-67. Much like their previous games, the Rams kept things close throughout. There were 15 lead changes and five ties throughout the contest. Additionally, graduate student forward Kaitlyn Downey made history by scoring her 1,000th career point. Ultimately however, Princeton’s win came in shootout fashion. The Tigers shot 53.8% on the night, and were greatly aided by a pair of 19-point performances from Grace Stone and Kaitlyn Chen. The women in maroon benefitted from Downey’s scoring all game long. She poured in 19 points, and graduate student Megan Jonassen also performed well with 15 points. Graduate student Asiah Dingle and senior Anna DeWolfe struggled greatly against the Tiger defense. Dingle shot 5-18 from the field, and DeWolfe was only able to collect 6 points on a 3-6 day from the floor. Overall, Fordham didn’t have the firepower to outlast Princeton in an offensive slugfest.

After a close loss to the Princeton Tigers, Fordham returned to the friendly confines of Rose Hill for a game against Wagner that went exactly according to plan. The Rams won by a bold mark of 95-48 and had five players with double figure scoring marks by the final buzzer. The team’s 59 first half points set a school record for most points in any half of the program’s history. Dingle bounced back from a lackluster game against Princeton and led all scorers with 20 points. Downey continued to roll against Wagner, and collected a healthy combination of 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in what was a prolific team win.

Once Wagner left the premises, Fordham set their sights on the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. Women’s hoops battled with Washington in their first Sin City match. However, the Huskies bested the Rams by a score of 71-62. Washington crashed the boards with ferocity. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and collected a total of 43 boards. The contest was won in the paint. The Huskies shot 50% from inside the perimeter while Fordham could only shoot 31.4% on two point attempts. Dingle and DeWolfe contributed 24 and 22 points respectively, but Washington’s Emma Grothaus led her team to win with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists.

 Even after a loss to the Huskies, the Las Vegas trip ended on a high note that allowed the Rams to get key contributions from two members of their core. Fordham defeated South Dakota by a mark of 78-65 to improve to 4-3 on the young season. South Dakota kept the first half of action close, and even outscored the Rams by a margin of 10 in the second quarter. However, phenomenal second halves from Dingle and DeWolfe ensured a maroon win. The backcourt duo became the first pair of Rams in the Atlantic 10 era to score 25 or more points in the same game. Dingle finished with 27 points and was a pristine 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. DeWolfe netted 26 points, and matched her personal-best of six threes.

Fordham’s latest stretch of contests saw them show team grit “east to west.” They’ve returned to the Bronx where they will play Fairfield University at home Wednesday night before traveling to Riverdale on Saturday for a rivalry match with the Manhattan College Jaspers in the dreaded Draddy Gymnasium.