The Fordham women’s basketball team defeated the George Mason University (GMU) Patriots on Thursday, March 3, to advance in the Atlantic 10 (A10) Tournament. Though little was expected of the 14th-seeded Patriots, the Rams didn’t waste any time, taking a 24-6 lead in the first quarter before cruising to a 66-50 victory.

After a four-game losing streak late in the season, Fordham has now won two in a row, following a victory against Davidson University on Senior Day last weekend. Unlike the regular season, the Rams will need to win every game to take the A10 Championship and qualify for a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Rams’ game against Davidson was a major win for Fordham. The previous four losses only seemed to motivate the Rams to play harder against future opponents. The game against George Mason started with a 10-0 run, with Kendell Heremaia, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences ’22, sinking the final basket of the run with a 3-point shot. Heremaia carried her momentum to the A10 Tournament, and her newfound offensive strength brushed off on her teammates. 

The Rams showed promise of a strong offense and began to attack the basket right out of the gate.

The Rams pushed themselves toward the basket; notably, Asiah Dingle, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’22, ignored the defense and continuously reached for the net. 

In the first quarter against George Mason, the Rams showed promise of a strong offense and began to attack the basket right out of the gate. Kaitlyn Downey, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill ’22, in particular, found her rhythm and knocked back two straight 3-pointers in the first three minutes.

The Patriots tried to outpace the Rams on offense, but they only had a 14% field goal success rate. George Mason only scored six points in the first quarter, with Fordham outscoring the team by 18 points and ending the quarter 24-6.

In the second quarter, Amaya Scott, GMU ’22, single-handedly carried the Patriots and scored eight points for her team. Although she only made two out of her six field goal attempts, she was able to bank all four of her free throws. But George Mason only scored a total of 15 points in the quarter, bringing the score to 43-21.

Already well ahead by halftime, the Rams abated their aggressive play in subsequent quarters. In the third quarter, the Patriots outscored the Rams but did little to cut into the deficit. They trailed 55-37 going into the fourth quarter.

Though George Mason scored 13 more points in the final 10 minutes, Fordham could have gone scoreless in the fourth, and the Rams still would have won. Instead, they scored 11, which was more than enough to secure a 66-50 victory.

The Rams’ offense throughout the game did not run through DeWolfe as it usually does, and a pair of her teammates stepped up against the Patriots. Heremaia led the team in scoring with 22 points, while Dingle scored 17 and secured 12 rebounds.

As the sixth seed in the tournament, Fordham will now play the third-seeded University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutewomen on Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. Last year, the Rams and Minutewomen faced off in the A10 Tournament as well. 

Though UMass was the sixth seed in 2021, the team upset Fordham and went on to appear in the A10 Championship game. The winner of the rematch this year will play the winner of the game between the second-seeded University of Rhode Island and seventh-seeded St. Joseph’s University in the semifinals.