Women's Basketball Hosts Davidson on Field Trip Day

Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (12-4, 3-0 A-10) won its first game in the last five meetings with Saint Louis with a thrilling back-and-forth 66-63 decision on Saturday afternoon and, in the process, made it five straight victories and now 11 in the team's last 13 games. The Rams will carry a 3-0 conference record into Wednesday's Field Trip Day contest against Davidson at 12 p.m. An expected 2,000+ local schoolchildren are expected in attendance.
 
Donate for the Victims of the Bronx Fires
Tragedy struck the Bronx community on December 28 when lives were lost during a large blaze at a local apartment building. HOT 97 has partnered with WBLS' Hip Hop Has Heart and Heart & Soul Foundation to raise money for the victims' families. You can donate HERE.
 
Upcoming Promotions
Bring Your Best Day: All children 8^th grade and younger can bring their best grades from school and get in for FREE by showing them off at the ticketing table! Wednesday, January 17 against Dayton!
 
Ginny Doyle Free Throw Contest: Girls and Boys grades 3-8 (excluding 8^th graders at the high school level) are eligible to compete. Interested teams must signed up and hold their own contests at their respective gyms. Ask your coach for specific date and times. Winners (up to two) from each team's contest will meet in the championship round at Fordham's Rose Hill Gym on January 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Winners will be named in three different grade brackets (3^rd and 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, and 7^th and 8^th). Each participant will have 20 shots. Cost is $10 to participate with all donations going towards the Ginny Doyle Women's Basketball Foundation. Every single participating player will receive a free ticket to Fordham's game against Dayton on the 17^th. CLICK HERE for more information.
 
Last Time Out vs. Saint Louis
Fordham got revenge for last season's quarterfinals loss to the Billikens with a 66-63 thriller in the Rose Hill Gym on Saturday thanks to a career-high 31 points from G'mrice Davis and timely baskets by Bre Cavanaugh down the stretch. The Rams led for much of the first half but Saint Louis continued to knock down its shots at a ridiculous clip, especially from three-point range, where they hit seven of its first 11 attempts, and held the halftime advantage. Between the 6:40 and one-minute marks, Davis went on a personal 12-2 run to retake the lead, 50-47, including 10 unanswered points. The Rams held serve for the next few minutes, building a four-point lead after another Davis jumper, but Jackie Kemph and Paige Raikers combined for five straight points to retake the lead. Davis' final basket of the night, with 6:03 to play, gave Fordham a brief lead, as Jordyn Frantz' jumper on the next possession gave the visitors the advantage, which they would hold until Cavanaugh drilled a spot-up three early in the shot clock, which would prove to be enough for the victory. Fordham's defense held Saint Louis scoreless  on four attempts over the next two minutes to secure the win.
 
Davis finished with a monster line of 31 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 38 minutes, with career highs of 13 field goals on 27 attempts. Cavanaugh shot just 5-of-15 from the floor but 8-of-9 from the line and 2-of-6 from deep to tally her second straight 20-point game. Lauren Holden was held scoreless for the first time this year but matched a season-high with six assists and played all 40 minutes for a fourth consecutive game.
 
Series History vs. Davidson
The Rams hold a 5-2 all-time series advantage since 2015, the year the Wildcats joined the Atlantic 10, including a 4-0 record in the Bronx. The two schools met three times a season ago, first with an 85-72 sprint on Rose Hill on January 4, then falling just short, 52-51, on Valentine's Day. The two teams were matched for the first round of the A-10 Championship in the league's new postseason format, and Fordham advanced to the quarterfinals with a 62-54 victory. G'mrice Davis averaged 19.0 points and 13.3 rebounds over those three contests.
 
Davis, Cavanaugh Sweep Weekly A-10 Awards
G'mrice Davis and Bre Cavanaugh were named this week's Atlantic 10 Co-Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Davis, who became Fordham's first-ever back-to-back weekly award winner, averaged 24.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game, while Cavanaugh averaged 21.5 points and 4.0 boards as the duo proved instrumental in two A-10 victories last week. This is Cavanaugh's third award of the season, second-most in a single season in program history along with Megan Mahoney (2007-08) and two back of Samantha Clark (2012-13).
 
Davis Scores 1,000th Point
G'mrice Davis entered her senior campaign with 970 career points scored and knowing it wouldn't be long to become the 20th Ram to ever accomplish the feat of scoring 1,000 career points in maroon and white. After scoring 28 combined points in her first two games, she was able to reach 1,000 career points with her first basket at Albany. The Philadelphia native just joined the all-time top-10 sits on 1,220 career points, having just passed current Director of Player Development Abigail Corning. Next up is Terri Vaccarino ('85) and Samantha Clark ('16) with 1,241 and 1,263, respectively.
 
Top-10 Ranked Defense
Stephanie Gaitley's Rams have spent the majority of this season in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense and were ranked ninth heading into the match-up with #11/12 UCLA. The Bruins scored 67 points in that one and it dropped Fordham to 21st. The Rams have responded by holding Hartford to 44 points, UC Davis to 62, George Washington to 50, UMass to 51, and Saint Louis to 63 during the current five-game winning streak, to rise back to 10th in the nation with 54.6 points allowed per contest. Fordham has allowed six 60-point games to opponents in its last 10 contests, but hold a 8-2 record over that span. All other opponents this season have scored between 33 and 59 points, with just seven of its 16 opponents reaching the 55-point mark. Opponents are shooting 39.8% from the field but just 28.5% from behind the arc, ranked 53rd in the country. Under Gaitley, the Rams have been a top-50 defense in all six of her previous seasons and have finished within the top-20 in half of those.
 
Atlantic 10's Top Team in RPI
The Rams are the A-10's top representative in NCAA RPI, at 59. Fordham has wins over St. John's (39th), Northern Colorado (45th), and UC Davis (58th), played both Albany (54th) and Penn State (69th) tight, and held UCLA (16th) to its fourth-lowest scoring output on the year. St. John's was ranked 12th at the time of their meeting.
 
One of the Nation's Top Rebounders
G'mrice Davis, the nation's returning leading rebounder, hasn't missed a beat, leading all of Division I with 10.5 defensive boards per contest, is second with 13.6 rebounds per game, and is sixth with 204 total boards. The senior's 13 double-doubles ranks third in the country, as well. Davis has tallied at least 13 points, 13 rebounds, and one steal in all but five contests this year. Her 13.6 rebounds per game currently ranks third in a single season at Fordham, behind Anne Gregory O'Connell's two best single-campaign rates and ahead of her third-best, 13.1. Last year, Davis' final clip of 12.8 boards per game ended up fourth-highest, ahead of Gregory O'Connell's worst mark of 12.4.
 
National Ranks
Davis is once again doing her thing on the glass and the Rams are, as usual under Coach Gaitley, a top defensive squad, but this year's team is also minimizing fouls and turnovers and sinking free throws at solid rates. Fordham ranks ninth in Division I with just 13.5 personal fouls per game, and 28th with 216 total fouls. Both marks rank first in the conference. At the free throw line, the Rams convert on 75.7% of their attempts, ranked second in the A-10 and 30th in the country. Part of the team's success on defense comes from limiting opposing rebounds and three-point shooting. Fordham grabs just 37.4 rebounds per contest (205th) but has a rebounding margin of +7.8, which ranks 37th, thanks to holding opponents to just 29.6 boards per game. Foes are also shooting just 28.5% from behind the arc, which ranks 22nd in the country, as well, which is down from 22nd before Saturday's contest in which the Billikens shot 50.0% from deep. The Rams have done better at taking care of the ball, too, with just 14.4 per game, ranked 70th overall.
 
Lauren Holden once again ranks first in Division I in minutes played per game, at 39.4, and second in total minutes at 630. The junior guard played all 50 minutes at St. John's and has gone the distance in 11 of 16 games this season. Aside from outings of 29 and 33 minutes, the junior has played at least 37 minutes in every game. Bre Cavanaugh and G'mrice Davis have also been asked to log heavy minutes this year, ranked 11th and 25th, respectively, with 38.1 and 37.1.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
A staple of the Gaitley-led Rams is defense, and no stat better represents that than Fordham's 53-5 record when holding opponents under 50 points during her tenure. Last January, Saint Joseph's defeated the Rams, 47-44, at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, ending a streak of 38 consecutive contests with such victories. The last time before that loss, coincidentally, was also against the Hawks, in the 2013 A-10 Championship game at the Barclays Center, 47-46. Fordham was 10-1 last year when holding opponents under 50 points and are 4-0 this season, just missing out on two more against the Colonials and Minutewomen, who scored late baskets in the final seconds.
 
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams' defense have ranked within the top-50 in every season, and within the top-20 at the conclusion of half of them. The highest a Gaitley-coached defense has finished was 12th during the conference championship-winning 2013-14 campaign, holding opponents at 56.3 points per game, while the 2012-13 squad held opponents to just 52.4 points per game, ranked 16th nationally. Last year, Fordham held opponents to 56.2 points per game and was ranked 19th in the country at season's end. This season, the Rams are holding opponents at 54.1 points per game, which ranks 10th in the country.
 
Stellar Start to League Play
The Rams are one of just three unbeaten teams remaining in the A-10 play, along with Dayton and Duquesne, after defeating George Washington and Saint Louis at home and Massachusetts on the road. Fordham, picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches' poll, sit in second place heading into Wednesday's contest. Davidson is ninth with an 1-2 record having just picked up its first league win this weekend over Rhode Island. Coach Gaitley has stuck with a seven-player rotation for these first three games, which includes five freshmen. G'mrice Davis leads the way with 21.0 points (on 48.3% shooting) and 14.7 rebounds per game, plus nine assists,  with Bre Cavanaugh right behind her at 19.7 points (on 39.6% shooting). Lauren Holden is next with 10.0 points and leads the squad with 10 assists. Zara Jillings, who has started all three games, has been solid with 7.7 points, 4.4 boards, and nine assists, while shooting 62.5% from the floor (10-of-16), a number only bested by Johanna Klug's 75.0% mark (6-of-8) in limited action.
 
This Is Our House
Fordham finished its 2016-17 campaign with a 16-3 at home, as opposed to a 5-7 record on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites. They were also 7-1 during home conference contests for the second year in a row. This year, they are 9-1 thus far in the Bronx. Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold a 80-25 (76.2%) record at home across 105 contests. On the flip side, including this year's 3-3 start, Gaitley's Rams are 52-55 (48.6%) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.
 
Cavanaugh a Three-Time A-10 Rookie of the Week
Redshirt freshman Bre Cavanaugh has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice this year, in addition to the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association's Player of the Week and College Sports Madness' A-10 Player of the Week, a honor that Cavanaugh has also won twice. The Allamuchy, N.J. native was critial to the team's success in beating St. John's and Bucknell, with two team-high 20-point contests. Against the Red Storm, Cavanaugh scored 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting, two three's, with five boards, an assist, and a steal across a season-high 48 minutes out of a possible 50. Against Bucknell, she scored all 22 of her points after the first quarter on a career-best eight field goals with two more threes, six rebounds, and two steals over 38 minutes. Her three honors are tied for second-most in a single season, along with Megan Mahoney (2007-08), but two back of Samantha Clark's record of five (2012-13).
 
Got a Minute?
Junior tri-captain Lauren Holden ranks first in the country with 39.4 minutes played per contest, and is second with 630 total minutes played. She has gone the distance on 11 separate occasions this season, including four straight and in both overtime games. Aside from 29 minutes in a blowout win over Iona and 33 against Northern Colorado due to foul trouble Holden has played at least 37 minutes every nice and at least 39 in 12. A starter since midway through her freshman season, Holden passed the 2,000-minute mark against Northern Colorado and is fast approaching the all-time top-20, with about 80 minutes to go, and is 22 minutes away from 2,500 for her career. Bre Cavanaugh and G'mrice Davis are also inside the top-25 nationally in minutes played, with 38.1 and 37.1, ranked 11th and 25th, respectively.
 
Holden From Downtown and At the Line
Lauren Holden jumped ahead of Annie Zopf ('09) with the last of her three three-pointers against UC Davis on December 29 to enter the all-time top-10 in career three's. She's since moved up to ninth, with 115, passing Monica Mack ('05). She is 19 away from passing Arielle Collins ('13). Holden's 82.4% conversion rate at the charity stripe, as well, ranks sixth-best in Fordham history.
 
Crashing the Offensive Glass
Fordham grabbed an astounding 23 offensive rebounds at Penn State, compared to 16 on the defensive end, which was 20 more than the Lady Lions' three by night's end. Mary Goulding grabbed nine of her 10 rebounds on offensive possessions, while G'mrice Davis split her 14 boards evenly on either side. For the season, of the Rams' 598 rebounds, 193 have come on the offensive glass, or just under one third of the time (32.3%). For the season, Davis has 47, Goulding is next with 33 and has offensive than defensive boards (25), something that Johanna Klug shares in common with her (32/31), and nearly one third of Zara Jillings' 48 rebounds come on the offensive end (16). Four others have between six and nine. Fordham outrebounds its opponents on the offensive glass, 193-133.
 
Gaitley Makes History
Stephanie Gaitley reached 100 wins with the Fordham program against Little Rock on November 19, 2016, and later won her 116th contest at home against Massachusetts, 74-43, in February, passing Kathy Mosolino ('74-'80) for the most wins in program history. Gaitley tied and passed the milestone with two typical Gaitley-inspired performances, with three-pointers and excellent defense, holding both opponents below 50 points. Entering the 2017-18 season, Gaitley had 120 wins across six seasons in the Bronx, an average of over 20 per campaign. Her 132 total wins are the second-most of any of Gaitley's stops in her 32-year career as a head coach, ahead of her 116 wins at Richmond (1985-91) but a ways away from her 10-year stint at Saint Joseph's (1991-2001), in which she racked up 196 wins. Gaitley has a career 596-350 record and has the second-most overall wins among active A-10 coaches, behind Saint Louis' Lisa Stone, and has the second-most wins by any Atlantic 10 coach, with 174 between Fordham and Saint Joseph's, but is 64 behind Joe McKeown's record of 240 that he accumulated during his 17 years with George Washington from 1989 to 2008.
 
Counting on Cavanaugh
The redshirt freshman waited two years to grace a collegiate basketball court in an official capacity and her hardwork and perseverence are paying off in a big way. Now a three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, Cavanaugh has scored eight or more points in all 16 games and in double figures in all but two, including six 20-point efforts. After scoring between 10-12 points through her first four games, the Allamuchy, N.J. native strung together five of six games with at least 14 points and, after nine and eight points in back-to-back games against UCLA and Hartford, Cavanaugh has since fired off games of 24, 16, 23, and 20 points. Her first weekly honor came after after combining for 35 points in wins at Manhattan and Pittsburgh, her second after scoring nine of her 20 points in the two overtime periods at St. John's and then 22 in a win over Bucknell. Cavanaugh ranks 11th in the country, and second in the conference, with 38.1 minutes per game and is shooting 37.1% from the field, 28.0% from deep, and 82.7% from the charity stripe. In Fordham's 12 wins, Cavanaugh is the team's second-leading scorer at 17.2 points per game on 40.9% shooting, 30.6% from deep, and 82.0% from the charity stripe, with 4.5 boards per game, 20 assists, and 14 steals. She has also made at least one three-pointer in every contest, has hit two in 10, and just dropped three for the first time last Wednesday night.
 
Klug Gaining Confidence
The freshman forward from Germany started her Fordham career with a bang, dropping 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting and 7-of-9 shooting from the line, with seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal across 30 minutes. However, Klug, a starter in all but one contest this season, fell into a slump over her next seven games. During that span, Klug averaged just 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds over 20.4 minutes per game, with 35.7% shooting and just six free-throw attempts, plus an assist/turnover ratio of 3/18. Since then, the freshman has grown in confidence and it has shown, with Fordham recording a 7-1 record as Klug has averaged 8.0 points on a blistering 69.0% from the floor (29-of-42), 4.6 rebounds per game (including 19 offensive boards compared to 18 defensive) and 11 assists to 11 turnovers, which used to be a 10/3 ratio up until the past two contests.  Klug has also blocked six shots and is averaging 31.0 minutes per game. In Fordham's 12 wins this year, Klug is scoring 7.6 points on 61.3% shooting across 27.7 minutes per game. The German international's 55.3% field goal shooting this season would rank second in the Atlantic 1, behind just Maddison Gits of Saint Louis (55.8%), if she met the minimum requirements (3.0 field goals made per game).
 
Current Five-Game Winning Streak
During the team's current five-game winning streak, Fordham is averaging 65.6 points per game compared to opponents' 54.0. During this current streak, G'mrice Davis has led the way with 20.6 points (on 52.4% shooting), 14.0 rebounds, and 13 assists,   all of which are team-highs, which helped her earn her A-10 and MBWA Player of the Week award. Bre Cavanaugh is right there next to her averaging 18.2 points on 39.0% shooting, while Lauren Holden is shooting 37.5% from behind the arc (12-of-32) for 11.2 points per contest. Johanna Klug has been great, as well, with 8.4 points and 5.4 boards, while shooting 70.4% from the floor and blocking four shots.
 
11 in 13
Expanding upon that, Fordham has won 11 of its last 13 contests, with the only two losses coming in a come-from-behind win by Penn State on the road and at home to #11/12 UCLA. Since a 1-2 start, the Rams are outscoring opponents by an average of 61.1 to 54.8, are outshooting opponents 41.2% to 40.1% and outrebounding foes, 486-381 (29.3 per game for opponents). G'mrice Davis leads the way after her 31-point outburst on Saturday with averages of 17.1 points and 13.6 rebounds, plus 23 assists and 20 steals, while Bre Cavanaugh is right behind with 16.4 points, 4.3 boards, 23 assists, and 15 steals. Mary Goulding, who has played in eight of these games, has averages of 9.8 points and 7.1 boards, plus 25 assists. Lauren Holden is next with 9.6 points and a team-high 37 assists, while Johanna Klug's 62.1% from the floor leads all players. Both Goulding and Klug have more offensive boards than defensive. In limited action off the bench, the freshmen New Zealand duo of Kendell Heremaia and Zara Jillings are averaging 3.2 and 2.8 points, respectively, and 2.4 and 3.2 boards. Jillings has attempted just 31 shots but is converting at a 45.2% rate and is fifth in the squad with 19 assists, plus four blocks and five steals.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
The Rams were 15-0 when scoring 60 or more points last season. Fordham was also 11-1 when holding opponents under 50 points (and 13-1 when holding them at 52 or under). After scoring at or under 55 points across their first six contests this year, the Rams have scored 60 or more in nine of the last 10 contests, and have an 8-1 record when hitting the 60-point mark.
 
Career Milestone Watch
- Bre Cavanaugh is two points away from 250
- G'mrice Davis is 30 points away from 1,250
- G'mrice Davis is 26 rebounds away from 1,000
- G'mrice Davis is 13 offensive rebounds away from 250
- G'mrice Davis is 15 field goals away from 500
- G'mrice Davis is two appearances away from 110
- G'mrice Davis is one start away from 80
- G'mrice Davis is 68 minutes away from 3,000
- Asnate Fomina is two assists away from 150
- Asnate Fomina is 10 steals away from 50
- Asnate Fomina is 13 appearances away from 100
- Lauren Holden is 15 points away from 650
- Lauren Holden is 39 field goals away from 250
- Lauren Holden is 22 minutes away from 2,500
 
Slow Starts, Strong Finishes
This season, the Rams are scoring just 209 and 218 points in the first two quarters of games, respectively, before turning on the jets in second halves, with 260 and 246 points scored in the third and fourth quarters. Fordham is outscoring opponents overall, 953-872, none moreso than in the 10 minutes proceeding halftime, 260-210, but also 218-191 in the 10 minutes prior, as well. Fordham outscored GW, 20-10, in the third frame, UMass, 24-10, during the same timeframe, and 16-13 against Saint Louis. Opponents are keeping things close in the opening and closing quarters, however, with a margin of just two and six points, respectively.
 
Davis Racks Up Preseason Honors
As mentioned, Davis' breakout junior season saw her earn First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive honors, and it was announced at A-10 Media Day that the league's coaches have predicted her to do so again as a senior. Davis was also recently selected as one of 20 players in Division I women's basketball for the inaugural Katrina McClain Award watch list, to be given out to the country's top power forward, starting this season.
 
Fordham Picked to Finish Fifth in Preseason Poll
Likewise, the league's coaches also predicted an identical fifth-place finish for Fordham in the preseason poll. Dayton, last year's champions, garnered eight first-place votes for a total of 182 points, just ahead of Saint Louis, who tallied 174 points and three first-place votes, and Saint Joseph's, with 170 points and the final three first-place votes. Duquesne, with 160 points, rounds out the top five in a predicted fourth-place finish. George Washington (116), La Salle (114), George Mason (79), Richmond (78), and Massachusetts (73) filled out spots 6-10, followed by VCU (56), St. Bonaventure (50), Rhode Island (46), and Davidson (22).
 
Five Fordham Debuts
Five freshmen made their debuts against UMBC, the most since 2011. Three of those freshmen started the contest, the most in the last 15 years. Joey Klug's 13 points were the most by a freshman in her debut since Hannah Missry scored 14 in 2013. Klug became the first freshman to record both a block and a steal in her debut over the last 15 years, as well, and the first to record at least one block since Samantha Clark had two in her 2012 debut. Cavanaugh's 39 minutes were the most by a freshman making her debut since Megan Mahoney played all 40 minutes in 2007.
 
Opponents Scoring Under 40
The Rams, all-time, since the move from the AIAW to the NCAA in 1983, have held opponents under 40 points 18 times, all coming in 1990 and beyond. Under Stephanie Gaitley, that number is seven, with Northern Colorado's output of 33 points being the latest. The Bears came into that contest averaging 69 points per contest over five game. Their 33 points were the third-lowest by a Fordham opponent all-time.
 
Fordham on the International Scene
The Rams boast one of the larger international contingents, between players and coaching staff, in the country. Seven different countries are represented: Barbados (Sonia Burke), Fiji (Valerie Nainima, Vilisi Tavui), Germany (Johanna Klug), Latvia (Asnate Fomina), Poland (Angelika Szumilo), and New Zealand (Mary Goulding, Kendell Heremaia, Zara Jillings), and 13 from the USA. Jillings and Klug each participated with their respective national teams over the summer, with the former playing sporadically for the New Zealand senior national team and Klug helped lead Germany to the European U20 B championship. 
 
20 Wins
The 66-61 double overtime win at La Salle last February was Fordham's 20th win of the season. It is the fourth time under Stephanie Gaitley that the Rams have amassed 20 or more wins, and it is the 16th season that Gaitley has personally won 20 or more, out of 31 seasons. Previously, there had been just five 20-win seasons in program history -- three with Kathy Mosolino (1977-80), one under Christina Wielgus (1991-92), and one under Kevin Morris (1993-94).
 
Four Sign NLIs in 2017-18 Recruiting Class
Coach Gaitley announced a four-player class earlier this week, made up of two guards and two forwards, locally from New York and Pennsylvania: Chloe Chaffin, Kaitlyn Downey, Megan Jonassen, and Catherine Polisano. Read more about them HERE.
 
Up Next
The Rams are back on the road to visit VCU on Sunday afternoon with tipoff set for 1 p.m.