Women's Basketball Holds End of Season Awards Dinner

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team celebrated its 2016-17 campaign during Wednesday night's annual awards banquet, honoring several players, as well as its three departing seniors.
 
Head coach Stephanie Gaitley and her staff handed out seven awards on the night, three of which were voted on by the players and four as a result of performance in practice, through academic achievement, and accumulation of community service time.
 
The first award of the evening was the Ram 24 award, which was given to sophomore Mary Goulding. Goulding voluntarily took time out of her weekly schedule to take part in community service throughout the year.
 
The next two awards were given to the winners of the season-long Chaney Chart competition. The Chaney Chart comes from Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and former Temple head coach, John Chaney. He was a hard-nosed, tough coach who always demanded excellence on and off the court from his players.  The Chaney Chart is something that Coach Chaney created to keep his players accountable in practice and focused on measuring the little things.
 
Junior G'mrice Davis earned the overall Chaney Chart award, while freshman Breanna Cavanaugh earned the distinction for the Defensive Chaney Chart. Despite sitting out the year as a transfer, Cavanaugh was a staple day-in and day-out as part of the practice squad, helping make her teammates better while also preparing herself for next season.  
 
The Teammate award was given to senior Danielle Padovano, as voted on by her teammates, for being an exceptional teammate and leader, serving as a team captain this year and leading by example, and always encouraging her teammates, both on and off the court. Padovano also took home the Highest GPA award, tallying a 3.8 GPA in her graduate studies this year.
 
Goulding was called up once again for earning the Most Improved Player award. The New Zealand international was a consistent contributor in practice all season long and carved out a useful role off the bench for much of the season before entering the starting lineup and eventually flourishing, averaging 11.0 points and 9.5 rebounds (4.5 offensive) in four postseason contests, including her first two career double-doubles.
 
Senior Danielle Burns was given the Most Inspirational award, as voted by her teammates. Her teammates' reasons for nominating her were for her level-headed season-long leadership on and off the court, and keeping her teammates focused yet relaxed throughout the year.
 
The women's basketball staff took turns honoring the players and others in attendance, while each member of the team at one point would be singled out for their contributions to the program this season.
 
The night wrapped up with a surprise ceremony for Coach Gaitley's 116^th win at Fordham, becoming the program's all-time winningest head coach, including a commemorative ball, followed by the honoring of the three seniors with framed jerseys, photos, and words from Gaitley. The juniors, G'mrice Davis and Asnate Fomina, concluded the evening with remarks, and showed a video that highlighted the team before giving way to a senior-specific tribute.