Women's Basketball Wraps Up Preseason with 50-Point Win over Post

Box Score (pdf)

Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team had one final tune-up on Sunday afternoon before the start of the 2017-18 regular season, and the Rams will walk away feeling better prepared for Friday's opener against UMBC after throttling Post University, 76-31. Senior forward G'mrice Davis and redshirt freshman Bre Cavanaugh combined for 41 points on the day as all 13 Rams saw action, including eight freshmen.
 
"We were able to see growth on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball today," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "Our young players continue to learn through their mistakes and over these last few days we've been able to take a step forward."
 
Fordham never trailed in the contest; the hosts scored six quick unanswered points and never looked back. An otherwise slow start to the contest opened up in the final four minutes when the Rams closed out the first period with a 10-1 run, coming on a pair of layups and several free throws from Davis, Cavanaugh, and Halei Gillis.
 
The first three minutes of the second quarter reverted back to sluggish back-and-forth inaction before Post's Meaghan Gotham got her team into double figures with a jumper. The Eagles made it back-to-back baskets when Hannah Benac hit a jumper of her own but the Rams rebounded with a 13-0 run over a four-minute span, taking a 37-12 lead. Post finished the period with a 5-4 run but trailed 41-17 going into the half.
 
Post would strike first in the third quarter, on a Lauren Chambers three-pointer, but the Rams again went on a run following a basket, this time with 11 unanswered points before a Jasmyn Fogle three ended the run. Fordham saw out the last four and a half minutes with an 11-1 run. The fourth was much of the same with the Rams seeing out the contest, 20-9, over the final 10 minutes.
 
Cavanaugh was aggressive throughout, tallying a game-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and sinking all seven of her free throw attempts. The redshirt freshman also chipped in three assists, sharing the team lead with Zara Jillings, and two steals. Davis was her usual self in the paint, posting 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and hitting six of her eight attempts from the charity stripe, adding two steals, a block, and an assist, as well, in 26 minutes. Gillis, who started against Hofstra on Friday, came off the bench for 14 points and eight rebounds, plus two assists and four steals. The freshman big went 2-of-4 from the field but 10-of-18 from the line.
 
Joining Cavanaugh and Davis in the starting lineup today was junior tri-captain Lauren Holden and freshmen Kendell Heremaia and Johanna Klug. Holden went just 1-of-7 from the floor but finished with seven points, three boards, and a steal over a team-high 29 minutes. Klug struggled with foul trouble but was still able to finish with two points, five rebounds, and one assist, steal, and block each in 14 minutes. Heremaia posted six points, four boards, an assist, and two steals across 22 minutes.
 
Jillings tallied a game-high five steals off the bench, adding six points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, three boards, and three assists over 23 minutes. Also getting in the box score were Kristen Ryan, Ralene Kwiatkowski, and Lauren Murphy. Katie McLoughlin also saw nine minutes off the pine, making it all 11 active players to see minutes.
 
Fordham shot 45.5% from the floor (25-of-55) and hit 30-of-41 (73.2%) of its freebies, but converted just 3-of-14 of its long-range efforts (21.4%). 40 of the Rams' 83 points were in the paint, 30 were off turnovers, 21 came on the fast break, and 21 off of second-chance opportunities. Fordham notched 18 steals and three blocks on the day but turned the ball over 21 times, compared to 13 assists.
 
The Rams begin the 2017-18 campaign on Friday evening, hosting UMBC at 5 p.m., as part of a doubleheader with the men's squad, who host Miami (Ohio) later in the night. Both matches will be streamed live on the A-10 Digital Network and can also be heard on WFUVSports.org.