Unstoppable No More: St. Joe’s Ends Women’s Basketball Winning Streak

PHILADELPHIA  – In a free-throw barrage during the latter half Wednesday evening, the Fordham University women’s basketball team fell to Saint Joseph’s, 72-65 in Philadelphia.

The match was relatively clean for a significant portion of the opening half, as neither team made a free-throw in the first 20 minutes, with the squads accumulating just nine team fouls up to that point. The contest concluded with a combined total of 46 fouls and 57 attempts from the charity stripe, where St. Joe’s converted 25-of-35, while the Rams outperformed their rivals in terms of percentage, making 17-of-22 attempts from the line.

On Wednesday, a duo of Rams reached double-digit scoring, led by Chaé Harris with 19 points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals, while Taya Davis contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Fordham’s record drops to 4-2 in Atlantic 10 competition and 10-7 overall this season, snapping a four-game winning streak, which was tied for the longest of the year, while St. Joe’s improves to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

For the second consecutive game, the Rams jumped to an early advantage, initiating a 10-3 run right from the start Wednesday night. The Hawks fought back late in the first quarter, but Fordham maintained a 14-12 edge after the first period.

St. Joe’s evened the score at 18-all during the media timeout of the second quarter, with 4:56 remaining in the first half. Just before halftime, Fordham pulled ahead by two, and Camila De Pool extended the lead to five points with a buzzer-beater shot from just inside midcourt, ending the half at 28-23.

Emerging from the locker room, the home team quickly surged ahead, maintaining their lead for the rest of the second half. Fordham managed to draw level one final time at 35-all, keeping pace with the Hawks over the last two quarters, but couldn’t regain the lead, trailing 43-41 heading into the fourth.

Starting the final quarter with a seven-point advantage, St. Joe’s consistently maintained a two-possession lead, culminating in a late free throw frenzy, with a combined total of 15 free throws made in the last two minutes to finalize the score.

Fordham aims to rebound with a return to The Bronx this Saturday for the Centennial Celebration of the Rose Hill Gym against Dayton at 2:00 p.m.