Every win at the collegiate level takes a certain amount of fortitude, but there are undoubtedly games that elite squads expect to win without much strife. Fordham Women’s Basketball enjoyed two such games this past week as they annihilated both St. Bonaventure University and Loyola University Chicago. 

A 85-51 road win over the Bonnies saw the Rams flex their dominance in every facet of the game, while an 80-64 home victory against the Ramblers featured a first half jolt that propelled Fordham to a comfortable lead they would maintain for the duration of the contest.

Last Wednesday’s contest against St. Bonaventure belonged to Fordham from the opening tip. The Rams outscored the home team 21-12 in the opening frame, and then surged to a 19- point second quarter that gave them a 40-17 lead at the conclusion of the first 20 minutes. The Bonnies are currently the Atlantic 10’s worst shooting teams and it showed against Fordham. St. Bonaventure is shooting at a 34% clip from the field as a team, and they only sank 29.5% of their field goal attempts against Fordham. They made a small run in the fourth quarter and almost outscored the Rams in the period. But it was too little, too late. Graduate student Kaitlyn Downey was exceptional for the Rams. She poured in a team-high 16 points while also contributing 10 boards and five dimes. The forward played with a great deal of physicality in the paint while still making key plays on the offensive end. Graduate student Jada Dapaa and senior Anna DeWolfe both tallied 14 points, and graduate student Asiah Dingle collected nine of her own. Fordham also got offense from some unlikely sources. Freshman Rose Nelson provided eight points on a 4-5 shooting day, and sophomore Colleen McQuillen totaled nine points and two made three-pointers. 

Much like St. Bonaventure, Loyola Chicago is far from a perfect team. They’re currently dead last in the conference in terms of average opponent field goal percentage. Further, they average the least rebounds in the A-10. Saturday afternoon’s match was largely controlled by Fordham. The women in maroon outshot the Ramblers by more than 15% and also finished with a slight advantage on the glass as well. The Bronx’s best led 50-33 at half, and as usual, DeWolfe, Dingle and Downey led the charge throughout the game. DeWolfe grabbed a team-high 20 points, Dingle scored 16 and Downey finished with 13. Dapaa and Downey controlled the glass for the Rams. Both players grabbed 10 boards and helped the Rams achieve a formidable defensive presence. Loyola Chicago made things somewhat intriguing in the fourth quarter when they outscored the Rams 23-18, but by then Fordham was already en-route to a commanding win. 

The pair of wins moved Fordham to an 8-3 conference record. Both efforts were commendable, but greater challenges lie ahead. Women’s hoops will face the second-place University of Massachusetts Minutemen on the road Wednesday, and then shuffle to Philadelphia for a Thursday morning bout with the La Salle University Explorers.