It’s the end of an era for Fordham Women’s Basketball, after they lost a thrilling second-round WNIT game to Columbia University on Monday night. Columbia, the first team out of an at-large NCAAW tournament bid, had been considered the heavy favorites entering the contest. However, it quickly became apparent that this Fordham Rams team would not go down easy.
From the opening tip, both teams traded blows despite uninspiring starts offensively. Columbia found its momentum by weaponizing its size against a much smaller Fordham team. The Lions cashed in ten straight points in the paint early on, further exposing Fordham’s physical weaknesses around the rim. The first quarter would conclude with Columbia ahead 18-13, led by junior guard Abby Hsu’s eight quick points.
Momentum swung in favor of the Rams entering the second quarter. Columbia’s offense continued to struggle, going scoreless for four minutes. Fordham senior Sarah Karpell, who averages just 4.7 points, converted a three-point play and secured a clean layup to extend their lead as the first half drew to a close. Karpell’s effort would net her seven first-half points and put Fordham ahead 33-31 as the teams entered the locker room at half.
Coming out of the halftime break, both teams’ offenses came to life. Fifty-four points were scored between the two teams, 28 from Columbia, 26 from Fordham. Fifth-year guard Asiah Dingle took over the third, adding 11 of her 20 in that quarter alone. Heading into the final ten minutes, the score was all knotted up at 59.
The Rams were able to maintain a lead until about halfway through the fourth quarter until a Kaitlyn Davis layup swung the lead back into Columbia’s favor. From that point forward, it was a back-and-forth battle as both teams attempted to advance their season to the WNIT’s Super Sixteen.
Fordham found themselves down by one with under 30 seconds left in the game when fifth-year graduate student Kaitlyn Downey found the perfect opportunity to get her first two points of the contest with a pure jumper around the free throw line to push the Rams back ahead by one with under 27 seconds left. With the season on the line, it was Columbia’s Kaitlyn Davis who showed up with a clutch bucket that would eventually decide the game. After missing her first layup attempt, Davis regained her own miss and put the ball back up and in with just seconds remaining. Fordham turned to the foul game, but could not overcome this deficit, losing by a final score of 78-73.
There are plenty of substantial takeaways that both teams can lean on from this match. For one, regardless of the expectations coming into the game, it was an even contest. There were 23 lead changes and eight ties throughout the game. Columbia won the rebound battle 45-40 but made its presence felt on the offensive boards and second-chance points. While both teams had 13 offensive rebounds, Columbia outscored Fordham on conversions, 15 to eight. For Fordham, their offensive success was largely attributed to getting more shots up, outshooting Columbia 75-68.
The Dingle–DeWolfe duo, who Fordham fans have come to know so well, finished their last game together in classic fashion. Both players scored well, with Anna DeWolfe leading all scorers at 21 and Dingle close behind with 20, with the latter also bringing down 10 rebounds to secure a double-double.
It’s a huge relief for Columbia to narrowly escape an upset, but it’s an absolute heartbreaker for Fordham. Abby Hsu and Columbia will now prepare for their next matchup against Syracuse, who surprisingly dominated Seton Hall to claim their spot among the Super Sixteen.
This loss for Fordham, however, is a more fitting of a way to end the season than their Atlantic 10 tournament exit to Richmond. While they didn’t get the win Monday, they proved that they had the talent to compete with the best at this WNIT tier, a bounceback following the Rams’ upset in the conference tournament. When Fordham played to their potential, it hung in there against Columbia, a top-50 team in the nation. That’s the sendoff this team deserved.
The resilience shown by Fordham not only in their matchup against Columbia but all season long has been astounding. Unexpectedly losing a long-time head coach coming into the season could be jarring for many teams, but the Rams made no excuses. After Interim Head Coach Candice Green’s promotion, the team accepted her with open arms. In return, Coach Green revamped the offense of this team while elevating their number of wins and even leading the Rams to their first postseason win since the 2017–2018 season. While it’s still uncertain if Fordham will promote Green by removing the interim title or looking elsewhere for their next head coach, it’s hard to imagine what more she could have done to earn another year at the helm.
The result of this game means it was the final time fans will see many graduate students and seniors suit up for Fordham. Downey, DeWolfe, Karpell, Dingle, Jada Dapaa, and Megan Jonassen are all impact players who likely played their last game for the Rams Monday. It isn’t often you see a team that will have to entirely revamp their starting lineup in one offseason, but that’s the reality Fordham is staring down now.
For the Rams, the future is all but certain. This offseason will answer a lot of questions, as they will now likely attack the transfer portal as they hope to retool. Regardless of the result, the identity of Fordham Women’s Basketball will look a little bit different heading into what will be the next era.