Nov. 14, 2008
Bronx, N.Y. -
Fordham opens their 39th season of competition against the Princeton Tigers of the Ivy League. Fordham is 18-20 all-time in season openers, dating back to the 1970-71 season, while posting a fairly good record of 24-14 in their home openers at the historic Rose Hill Gymnasium. This is the first match-up with Princeton since the 1984-85 season, with the Rams holding a 4-2 edge in six all-time meetings.
THE OPPONENT: Princeton is coming off a 7-23 season in 2007-08 with a 4-10 mark in the Ivy League. The team is coached by Courtney Banghart, who is in her second season at Princeton.
The Tigers bring back nine players from last season's squad, but lost their leading scorer and rebounder, Meagan Cowher (17.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) to graduation. Princeton does however bring back the next four top scorers from a year ago, led by Addie Micir (7.5 ppg, .425 3PT) and Jessica Berry (7.1 ppg). Whitney Downs is the floor leader, leading the team with 81 assists last season to go with a 6.0 scoring average.
FORDHAM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON THE WEB: For the entire 2008-09 season, anyone can follow the Rams at home using the "Fordham All-Access" banner on fordhamsports.com. All home games will have live audio and video streaming from the Rose Hill Gym this season, while also having video highlights of home games. The service is free by signing up at fordhamsports.com.
WHO'S BACK: Third-year head coach Cathy Andruzzi has back a promising group of young players, led by sophomores Megan Mahoney and Kristina Bell, while senior Annie Zopf will provide a veteran presence on the floor.
Zopf has been an "iron woman" for the Rams, starting every game over the past two seasons. In 2007-08, she set career-highs in scoring (10.6 ppg), assists (81), steals (31), and free throw percentage (.836). She will continue to be the Rams' floor leader.
Along with Zopf, Mahoney had a stellar freshman campaign, being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. A three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, she led the Rams in scoring at 15.4 points a game, as well as steals (57) and three-point field goals (43). She proved to be a big-time scorer, ranking fifth nationally in scoring among freshmen, while ranking second in the Atlantic 10 conference in scoring at 17.8 points a game. Mahoney was also second on the squad in assists (50) and field goal percentage (.376), while scoring in double figures in 25 of 29 games, which included eight games of at least 20 points.
Bell was also a solid contributor during her initial season. She and Mahoney were the only freshmen to appear in all 29 games. Bell averaged 4.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, and ranked second in rebounding and steals (41). She was also one of the top free throw shooters on the squad, shooting .815 from the free throw line (44-54).
Along with this trio, the Rams welcome back seniors Kassie Humphries, Takita Earl, and Carissa Morrill, and sophomores Raina Spencer, Kyara Weekes, and Alexandria Zamora.
Earl and Humphries served as the Rams' starting post players a year ago, as Earl started all 29 games with Humphries starting 27 of 29 games. Earl was a solid rebounding and defensive force in her first season at Fordham, averaging 7.4 rebounds a contest to go with 44 blocks, both team-highs. Humphries was the top post scorer for the Rams, averaging 5.1 points to go with a 3.4 rebounding average and 22 blocks. Morrill will return to the Rams' frontcourt this season, after missing all of the 2007-08 season with an injury. At 6-5, she will look to re-establish herself as the defensive force she was as a sophomore, where she led the Jayhawk Community College Conference in blocks and ranked among the league leaders in rebounding.
Spencer was a key spark off the Fordham bench as a freshman, appearing in 15 games before suffering an injury. An extremely athletic guard, she was third on the Rams in scoring at the time of her injury, averaging 7.3 points and 2.9 rebounds. With her quickness and ability to drive to the basket back in the line-up, more scoring opportunities should be available for the Rams' outside shooters.
Weekes appeared in 24 games as a freshman, while Zamora played in 27 games in her first season. With a year of experience behind them, the Rams will expect more production out of these two players in 2008-09.
