Nov. 20, 2010
Holy Cross Game Notes | WFUV Audio | Live Video | GameTracker | Follow on Twitter
Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham women's basketball team has the second of back-to-back home games against Patriot League opponents on Saturday, as the Rams host the Crusaders of Holy Cross.
Both squads come off wins on Wednesday night, as the Rams won 64-42 over Bucknell for their second straight win, while Holy Cross topped Quinnipiac, 72-60, for its first win of the season.
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 38th all-time meeting between the Rams and Crusaders, as both were long-time rivals in both the MAAC and Patriot League, before Fordham moved to the Atlantic 10. Holy Cross holds 31-6 lead in the series, and have won each of the last five meetings.
The last meeting between the two teams came in January 2003, when the Crusaders topped the Rams, 70-62, up in Worcester, Massachusetts.
SCOUTING HOLY CROSS: Out of the Patriot League, the Crusaders of Holy Cross are 1-2 in the early goings of the 2010-11 season, having defeated Quinnipiac on Wednesday, 72-60, after dropping its first two games to Yale (74-71) and #1 Connecticut (117-37). The Crusaders are led by longtime coach Bill Gibbons, who is his 26th year at Holy Cross with a record of 487-268.
On the floor, Whitney Fremeau is the top threat for Holy Cross, averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 assists through three games this season. Amy Lepley is also averaging in double figures at 11.3 points per game, while having a team-best 8.3 rebounding average and 13 assists.
JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: For the third straight year, Fordham will once again be in Jesuit Basketball Spotlight games this season. These games are between a pair of Jesuit universities or colleges, and feature a different breed of student-athlete that handles the academic and athletic workload of a Jesuit institution.
Today's, match-up between Fordham and Holy Cross is one of five of these contests this season. The other four will come against St. Peter's, Holy Cross, Saint Joseph's, Xavier, and Saint Louis.
FROM NEW YORK, THIS IS 20-20: Already through three games this season, the Fordham Rams have had three different players break the 20-point barrier in a game, matching last year's total through 30 games.
Kristina Bell got the ball rolling with her first career 20-point game, posting a career-high 22 against Elon University. The following night, senior Caitlin Shadbolt matched that total with her first 20-point game, scoring a career-high 22 points, while fellow senior Tiffany Stokes netted 21 points for her third career 20-point game.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE: High scoring affairs have been rare over Fordham's recent history, which puts Fordham's first two games of the season at the Phoenix Classic in high standing.
The Rams scored at least 75 points in both games, which included an 81-point winning effort against Stony Brook. In addition, the Rams had five players reach double figuring in the Stony Brook.
To put those numbers in perspective, the last time Fordham had five players in double figure scoring was December 11, 2005, in a 71-61 loss to Cincinnati, a span of 138 games.
The Rams' last 80-point game was January 11, 2004 in an 81-69 victory over the Rhode Island Rams, a span of 191 games.
Finally, to find the last back-to-back 75-point games by the Rams, one goes back to the opening two games of the 2002-03 season against Brown (78 pts.) and Morgan State (89 pts.), which was 231 games ago.
TURNING UP THE DEFENSE: After a pair of sub-par defensive efforts in the opening two games, the Fordham Rams returned to its stingy ways against the Bucknell Bison on November 17th. Fordham allowed only 42 points to Bucknell, the lowest output for a Rams' opponent since La Salle scored 42 points on January 24, 2009. The Rams' held Bucknell to just 3-of-14 shooting in the second half, which included a 15-minute stretch without a Bison basket. Bucknell was also forced into 17 turnovers in the second half, and 28 for the game, which turned into 37 points on the offensive end.
In addition the 22-point margin of victory by the Rams was the largest margin since Fordham defeated Norfolk State by 27 on December 28, 2008.
HEY NEWBIE!: With an extremely experienced squad returning, there is only one newcomer of the 2010-11 edition of the Rams in the form of freshman Abigail Corning.
Corning was a four-year varsity basketball player at Wethersfield High School and the Hartford Courant 2009-10 Player of the Year. She set the school record for points scored with 1,448, was an All-State selection, and earned All-Central Connecticut Conference honors in each of her seasons at Wethersfield.
Corning has already made an impact, playing at least 13 minutes in each game this season. Against Bucknell, she netted a season-high 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field, which included a pair of three-pointers, while hitting all three free throws she attempted.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: Fordham hits the road for four straight games with an away match-up against Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday, November 22nd, at 7:00 PM. The Rams then travel to Lawrence, Kansas for a three-day tournament from November 26-28. Fordham will meet Memphis on November 26th, North Dakota State on November 27th, and host Kansas on November 28th.
