Women's Basketball Hosts Manhattan Saturday in 50th Battle of the Bronx

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (4-4) will look to snap its two-game losing skid in Saturday's 50th Battle of the Bronx. The Rams and Jaspers (1-4) will face off inside the Rose Hill Gym at 2 p.m.
 
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Last Time Out
Without senior captain Mary Goulding, the Rams struggled on the road against Georgetown, the team's fourth road game in six days. Fordham took a brief lead early, 14-13, and finished the first half on a 9-1 run to trail by just four at halftime, 32-28, but could muster just five points in each of the next two quarters as the Hoyas ran away with it in a 20-point defeat. The Rams' defense held Georgetown to just 42 points through three periods but the hosts hit 7-of-13 shots in the final 10 minutes to push the margin up big. Bre Cavanaugh led the Rams with 10 points but it was Zara Jillings, making her first start of the year, who posted the best all-around line, recording eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal while playing all 40 minutes. Lauren Holden chipped in eight second-half points, Kaitlyn Downey hauled in seven rebounds, as did Cavanaugh, and Megan Jonassen chipped in four points and five rebounds off the bench.
 
The Rams shot a season-low 26.4% from the floor, 20.8% from behind the arc, and hit 5-of-8 free throws. It was also the third game in which Fordham was outrebounded (40-34).
 
Series History vs. Manhattan
The Fordham rivalry with the most contests, the Battle of the Bronx has been played at least once every single year, except for 2002, since 1980. The Rams hold a slim 25-24 advantage after taking the lead in the series with last year's 54-48 road victory. Fordham has won the past seven meetings between the two schools, once every year since 2011.
 
Cavanaugh Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
The redshirt sophomore was rewarded for an excellent performance at the Gulf Coast Showcase by earning her first career conference Player of the Week honor. Cavanaugh averaged 22.3 points on 42.1% shooting, 35.5% from deep, with 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals over 37.3 minutes per game. Click here to read more about Bre's week.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through eight games to open the 2018-19 season, the Rams have had five double-doubles by four different players. Senior Mary Goulding has two near-identical ones to lead the team, grabbing 12 rebounds twice and scoring 16 against Charlotte and 15 at Northeastern, redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh set a new personal mark with 10 boards in the season opener to go with 20 points, Kaitlyn Downey posted 11 points and 11 rebounds against Penn State for her first career double-double, and Kendell Heremaia did the same with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Washington. G'mrice Davis graduated in May tied for a NCAA-wide lead with 57 career double-doubles and had 27 last year alone.
 
Holding Onto the Rock
Fordham leads the country in turnovers per game, with just 10.8 through eight contests. Coming into the Texas game, they were the only school averaging under 10, but they committed 13 against the Longhorns (just four in the second half) and had the same number on Thursday night at Georgetown. The Rams turned the ball over just six times against Charlotte last Sunday, the lowest number since Coach Gaitley's 600th career victory last January 25th against St. Bonaventure, when they had just 10, and followed that up with eight turnovers against both Ball State and Washington to start the Gulf Coast Showcase. They are the the first single-digit turnover games since the Rams had eight against Dayton last January 17th and last Sunday was the first time with six or less since the team committed six against Iona last December 9th. Fordham currently leads the Atlantic 10 in the category, 3.0 more than the next team (Duquesne).
 
Fordham has five of the top nine in assist/turnover ratio in the Atlantic 10. Zara Jillings (3.4) is tops in the league, Kaitlyn Downey and Bre Cavanaugh are tied for third (2.3), and Mary Goulding and Megan Jonassen (2.0) are tied for seventh.
 
Kiwis Coming Through
Fordham's Kiwi contingent of Mary Goulding, Kendell Heremaia, and Zara Jillings combined for 37 points against Charlotte, including 22 in the fourth quarter alone out of the team's 29 points. Jillings hit a three-pointer in the corner then fed Heremaia for a layup to retake the lead for good and Goulding scored 12 points the rest of the way, all from the field, to secure the victory. Against Ball State, with Goulding struggling with her shot (despite tallying seven boards and a game-high six dimes), Heremaia and Jillings each set new career-highs in scoring, with 15 and 12 points, respectively, with the former matching her career-high six field goals and three triples, the latter notching a personal-best two steals to go with eight rebounds and five assists. The trio combined for 27 points and 16 rebounds against the Huskies last Saturday and against Texas on Sunday, Heremaia set yet another benchmark in scoring with 17 points.
 
Heremaia and Goulding are second and third on the team in scoring, respectively, with 11.0 and 10.4 points per game, and are first and second in assists, with 20 and 18, respectively. The latter is close to averaging a double-double with 7.7 rebounds, while the former chips in 4.9 per game. Jillings is averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, with 17 assists, off the bench. The trio has combined to average 26.8 points per game, or 43.3% of the team's scoring.
 
Mary Goulding Named Atlantic 10 and National Jesuit Player of the Week
The New Zealand international earned her first weekly career accolades last week by averaging a double-double (13.0 points and 10.5 rebounds) agianst Penn State and Charlotte. The senior captain recorded 11 points and nine boards against the Lady Lions and was instrumental in the team's fourth-quarter rally against the 49ers, scoring 12 of her 16 points in the period alone. Goulding added 12 boards, a career-high two blocks, a steal, and an assist, and hauled in five offensive boards in each contest. She has an equal 27-27 split on either end for the season and is close to averaging a double-double (10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds) through seven games.
 
Three Games in Three Days
Last weekend's Gulf Coast Showcase featured three games in three days, a tough ask for any team. The last time the Rams had done that, they won the 2014 Atlantic 10 championship, winning three times in three days to secure their lone conference title. You'd have to go back to the pre-Gaitley days for the last instance in the regular season, under Cathy Andruzzi in 2010 at the Kansas Classic in Lawrence, where the Rams fell in all three games but took RV/RV Kansas to overtime. It was also the eighth time since 1979 that the program has played three days straight.
 
Crashing the Offensive Glass
Last year, nearly one-third of the Rams' 1,268 total rebounds came on the offensive glass (408 - 32.1%). Fordham lost leading rebounder G'mrice Davis in the offseason but the Rams haven't missed a beat thus far in 2018-19, hauling in just under 40% of their total boards on the offensive glass (105-of-287 - 36.6%). Five different Rams already have at least 12 offensive boards. Mary Goulding has an even 27-27 split on both ends of the floor, Megan Jonassen and Zara Jillings each have 13 offensive boards off the bench, and Bre Cavanaugh and Kaitlyn Downey each have 12. Fordham had had between 14 and 19 offensive rebounds in each of the first six games of the year before a combined nine the last two games.
 
Shooting Woes
After opening the season by shooting 43.3% from the field and 40.9% from behind the arc against Wagner, the Rams have struggled with their shot in seven of the 10 halves since. At Northeastern, Fordham hit just 20-of-70 attempts (28.6%), including 4-of-27 from three-point territory (14.8%). The Rams shot under 30% just once all of last year, against nationally-ranked UCLA (19.6%) and would've done it again against Penn State (31.4%) if not for a scorching-hot start to the contest, with the team hitting 10-of-20 attempts from the field. The Fordham offense hit just 5-of-15 shots in the first quarter against Charlotte and 6-of-21 (28.6%) in the second quarter, but rebounded with an impressive 16-of-29 performance in the second half, featuring a 10-of-14 shooting performance over the final 10 minutes (71.4%) to finish the game at 41.5%. The Rams continued to struggle from deep, though, hitting just 4-of-21 attempts (19.0%). Fordham is shooting 36.5% from the field this year and just 27.5% from behind the three-point line. Opponents are shooting 43.8% and 31.9%, respectively.
 
Heremaia Cruising
Sophomore Kendell Heremaia has started all eight games thus far this year and has set new career-highs in scoring on four different occasions, culminating in last Sunday's 17-point performance against #10 Texas. Her high last year was 11 points. The New Zealand international made a statement on opening night against Wagner, delivering an efficient 13 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, matching and setting her career-highs in the latter two, respectively. The Whangarei native outdid herself over three consecutive games last week, scoring 14 points against Charlotte, 15 against Ball State, and notched her first career double-double against Washington with 13 points and 10 rebounds, hitting a personal-best six field goals in all three games. She then hit 5-of-10 efforts from the field against the Longhorns, including a personal-best 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, with a team-high six boards and four assists. She also eclipsed 31 minutes for the first time in her career, playing 36.
 
Holden Ascending the All-Time Ranks
Having played the eighth-most minutes in Fordham history, it's no surprise to see Lauren Holden's name already in the record book. The Cape May, N.J. native's two triples on Friday tied her and then pushed her past Maureen Garvey ('01) for sixth all-time and is now up to 165 career three-pointers.  Her 84.2% career rate from the free-throw line sits fifth all-time. She is also on pace to become the 21st member of the program's 1,000-point club, currently at 894, as well as enter the top-five for games played and stated, currently at 106 and 91, respectively.
 
Five Fordham Debuts
Five Rams made their collegiate debuts against Wagner. Kaitlyn Downey got the start and scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from the line across 19 minutes to go with five boards, an assist, and a steal. Redshirt freshman Vilisi Tavui scored four points with a pair of steals in 10 minutes off the bench and was joined by true freshmen Chloe Chaffin, Megan Jonassen, and Catherine Polisano. Polisano hit a first-quarter three for her lone points of the game, Jonassen scored two points and hauled in a pair of offensive rebounds, and Chaffin grabbed three boards and made one of her two freebies. There were five debuts a year ago, as well, the most since 2011.
 
Gaitley Gets Career Win Number 600
Stephanie Gaitley got her first career win against Siena in December 28, 1985. She got her 500th career victory while at Fordham, against Temple on March 10, 2013, in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals in Philadelphia. After stops at Richmond, Saint Joseph's, LIU Brooklyn, Monmouth, and now in the Bronx, the Ocean City, N.J. native can claim what less than 70 coaches all-time can: 600 career wins. She did it with a 72-48 win over St. Bonaventure on January 25th of this year, on her birthday, to boot, and currently holds a 612-359 all-time record. She became the program's all-time winningest coach in 2016, also against the Bonnies, and has a 148-89 record with the Rams. While with three different schools in the A-10 over her career, she also has the second-most conference wins, 177, but is behind George Washington's Joe McKeown by 63.
 
Got a Minute?
Senior co-captain Lauren Holden set a new Fordham record with 1,333 minutes played last year, which ranked fourth in the country and second on a per-game basis (39.2). Holden went the distance on 21 separate occasions last year, including two 50-minute efforts. Aside from two blowout wins and 33 minutes against Northern Colorado due to foul trouble, Holden played at least 35 minutes in every contest and at least 39 in 23. A starter midway through her freshman year, Holden became the 15th Ram to surpass 3,000 career minutes, now up to 3,475 for her career, which ranks eighth all-time, recently passing Annie Zopf ('09) against Charlotte and Denise Hammersley ('95) against Ball State. Bre Cavanaugh, meanwhile, was right alongside her last year with the second-most minutes played in a single season, finishing at 1,306 minutes played and 38.4 per game, ranked ninth and sixth, respectively.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
Fordham is 35-3 over its last two-plus seasons when scoring 60 points or more, including a 16-3 mark a year ago and 4-0 start to this season. After scoring at or under 55 points across the first six contests last season, the Rams rattled off 21 games with at least 60 points over their final 28 games.
 
20 Wins
Last year's Rams finished 24-10, the fifth-most wins in a single year in school history. It was the second consecutive year Fordham has finished with 20 or more wins and the fifth time under Coach Gaitley since 2011-12. The program has only ever had 10 20-win seasons: three with Kathy Mosolino (1977-80), one under Christina Wielgus (1991-92), and one under Kevin Morris (1993-94). It was Gaitley's 17th time winning 20 games or more in her 32-year career.
 
Top-15 Ranked Defense
Gaitley's Rams are known for their stout defense and last year was no different. Fordham allowed just 56.1 points per game to opponents, which ranked 15th in the country. The Rams allowed just 13 60-point games and held an 11-0 record when opponents scored below 50 points. Two big reasons why was holding opponents to just 29.7% shooting from behind the arc, one of the lowest marks in the country, and outrebounding foes by a margin of 6.6 boards per contest. Under Gaitley, the Rams have been a top-50 defense in all seven seasons and have finished within the top-20 in half of them.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
No stat better represents the Gaitley-infused defense than Fordham's 56-5 record when holding opponents under 50 points during her tenure. Two Januarys ago, 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. Since that streak ended, the Rams have rattled off 14 such wins. Fordham is 21-1 in its last 22 contests with rivals scoring under 50 points.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 88-28 (75.9%) record at home across 116 contests. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rams are 33-7 in the Bronx, including a 13-3 mark in conference play. Last year, Fordham finished 15-3 at home overall and 6-2 in league action. On the flip side, including last year's 9-6 mark, Gaitley's Rams are 60-62 (49.2%) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.
 
Gaitley's 3-and-D Rams
Under Coach Gaitley, the Rams have finished within the top-50 in scoring defense in all seven seasons and within the top-25 in four of those. Her Rams have also tallied the top four three-point totals in school history, with last year's 186 ranking fourth all-time. The record is 244 set by the Atlantic 10 championship-winning team of 2013-14.
 
Bre's 37-Point Night
Bre Cavanaugh set a Fordham freshman record in double overtime at Saint Louis, dropping 37 points on 12-of-30 shooting, 5-of-8 from three-point range, and hitting all eight of her free throw attempts, all over 48 of 50 possible minutes. The 37 points ended up being a season-high among all Atlantic 10 players. Cavanaugh became just the third freshman to ever tally multiple 30-point games, along with Fordham Hall of Famers Anne Gregory O'Connell, Sharon Nast, and Jeanine Radice. In fact, only six players have ever had multiple 30-point performances in a single campaign. Both Cavanaugh's 12 field goals and five triples were both season-highs as were her 30 attempts, the latter also leading the conference last year. The Allamuchy, N.J. native scored the final eight points for Fordham in regulation, including clutch free throws with 10 seconds left to tie the game up, and eight more points in overtime.
 
Career Milestone Watch
- Bre Cavanaugh is 18 field goals away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is 14 three-pointers away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is 26 free throws away from 200
- Bre Cavanaugh is 22 assists away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is one steal away from 50
- Bre Cavanaugh is eight starts and games played away from 50
- Mary Goulding is one steal away from 50
- Lauren Holden is six points away from 900
- Lauren Holden is 35 three-pointers away from 200
- Lauren Holden is two field goals away from 300
- Lauren Holden is nine starts away from 100
- Lauren Holden is 25 minutes away from 3,500
 - Zara Jillings is 31 assists away from 100
 
Up Next
The Rams head back out on the road for the first of two December contests away from the Bronx. Fordham travels to Pittsburgh next Wednesday to play at 7 p.m.