Women's Basketball Hosts Columbia Tuesday Night

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (5-5) welcomes Columbia to the Rose Hill Gym on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., the first game of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team. The Rams are looking to rebound from last week's close loss at Pittsburgh.
 
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Last Time Out
Fordham led by five points at halftime against the Panthers, aided by a 14-2 run in the first quarter, but went cold in the third period, missing its final 13 field goal attempts as Pittsburgh regained control of the contest. The Panthers started the second half with two quick buckets to get within one before the Rams went on an 8-0 run to take its largest lead of the evening, 47-38. However, from that point on, the visitors missed their next 13 attempts from the field as Pittsburgh took a two-point lead into the final frame. Bre Cavanaugh gave Fordham two leads, one early in the fourth and one late, 60-59, but Pittsburgh was able to withstand the rally and scored the game winner with 90 seconds to play.
 
The Rams were outshot 48.1% to 41.0% overall, including from deep, 41.7% to 35.5%, and went to the line just once (1-of-2) but did win the battle of the boards, 32-31, including a margin of 14-9 on the offensive glass, the fifth time this season the group has had 14 or more on that end.
 
Cavanaugh shared the game-high with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-15 shooting performance, a season-high 4-of-8 from downtown, while Megan Jonassen scored a season-high 11 points off the bench in 28 minutes to go with five boards and a personal-best three blocks. Mary Goulding posted an all-around line of eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block, and Lauren Holden and Kendell Heremaia each chipped in nine points and combined for seven assists.
 
Series History vs. Columbia
Fordham holds an all-time 10-1 series advantage over the Lions since 1987. The two schools have not met since 2000 when the Rams were victorious, 55-53, in the Bronx. Columbia's lone win came in the Rose Hill Gym, 78-64, on this date in 1990. Oddly, all previous 11 meetings have taken place in December and between the third and the 14th of the month.
 
Holding Onto the Rock
Fordham leads the country in turnovers per game, with just 10.7 through its opening 10 contests, .1 ahead of national powerhouse UConn. The Rams and Huskies are the only two schools averaging less than 11 per game. Prior to the Texas game, Fordham was averaging single-digit turnovers but coughed the ball up 13 times against the Longhorns and again at Georgetown. The Rams rebounded with nine against Manhattan and kept it to just 12 at Pittsburgh. The team committed just six turnovers against Charlotte, the lowest number since Coach Gaitley's 600th career victory last January 25th against St. Bonaventure, when they had just 10, and last time with six or fewer since December 9th, 2017 against Iona. Fordham followed that up with eight turnovers against both Ball State and Washington, the first single-digit turnover games since the Rams had eight against Dayton last January 17th. Fordham has 3.5 fewer turnovers than the next A-10 team, Duquesne.
 
The Rams have three of the top six in assist/turnover ratio in the Atlantic 10. Zara Jillings (3.2) is second in the league, Kaitlyn Downey sits in fifth (2.3), and Bre Cavanaugh is tied for sixth (1.8).
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 10 games to open the 2018-19 season, the Rams have had six double-doubles by four different players. Senior Mary Goulding has two near-identical ones - grabbing 12 rebounds twice and scoring 16 against Charlotte and 15 at Northeastern, and with her 27-point, 11-rebound performance against Manhattan, redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh now has two on the year and in her career. 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.
 
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 Washington and Heremaia netted a career-best 17 points against Texas in the Gulf Coast Showcase final.
 
Heremaia and Goulding are second and third on the team in scoring, respectively, with 10.4 and 10.0 points per game, and first and second in assists, with 29 and 23, respectively, while Jillings chips in 5.1 points and 19 assists off the bench. The Kiwis has combined to average 25.5 points per game, or 41.0% of the team's scoring, 14.9 rebounds, or 42.6 of the team's rebounding, and 71 assists, or 55.9% of the team's total of 127. Last Saturday against Manhattan was the first time all three have started together.
 
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.
 
Mary Goulding Named Atlantic 10 and National Jesuit Player of the Week
The New Zealand international earned her first weekly career accolades two weeks ago 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.
 
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 (128-of-350 – 36.6%). Five different Rams already have at least 14 offensive boards. Mary Goulding has 32-of-36 offensive boards, Megan Jonassen is next with 18 already off the bench, Kaitlyn Downey has 15, and both Bre Cavanaugh and Zara Jillings have 14. Fordham has had between 14 and 19 offensive rebounds in seven contests this year, including the first six of the year and Wednesday at Pittsburgh. Between, the Rams combined for just 18.
 
Heremaia Cruising
Sophomore Kendell Heremaia been tremendous for the Rams this year, starting all 10 contests, after making seven starts in 33 appearances last year. The Whangarei, New Zealand native has set four new highs in scoring, starting with 13 in the season opener against Wagner and culiminating in 17 against #10 Texas. She is second on the team with 10.4 points per game. Heremaia has hit at least one three-pointer in all but one game and, with at least five attempts from the field in every game, has shot 50% or better in six contests. She is shooting 47.7% from the field and 43.2% from behind the arc with 4.6 rebounds per game and a team-high 29 assists. After playing between 16 and 25 minutes the first five games, she has played between 29 and 36 in the last five.
 
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 170 career three-pointers, just one behind current Director of Ops Abigail Corning. Her 84.4% 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 911, as well as enter the top-five for games played and stated, currently at 108 and 93, respectively.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 44 contests in her Fordham career and has been nothing short of spectacular for the Rams during her brief time in maroon and white. The redshirt sophomore finished her freshman season with the second-most minutes ever played in a single campaign, with 1,306, and is averaging 38.2 minutes per game so far in her career. Over her first 44 contests, she is averaging 17.5 points per game with 248 field goals, 91 three-pointers, and 182 free throws, with an average of 5.0 rebounds per game, 82 assists to 65 turnovers, and 51 steals. She is on pace to join the 1,000-point club towards the end of this season, currently at 769 career points.
 
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). Bre Cavanaugh was right there with her, playing the second-most minutes in a single year (1,306) and averaging 38.4 per game, ranked ninth and sixth nationally, respectively. This year is no different as Cavanaugh is 10th in the country with 37.7 minutes played per game and Holden is 14th at 37.4. A starter midway through her freshman year, Holden became the 15th Ram to surpass 3,000 career minutes, now up to 3,554 for her career, which ranks eighth all-time, recently passing Annie Zopf ('09) against Charlotte and Denise Hammersley ('95) against Ball State. With 33 minutes on Tuesday, she will pass Kristina Bell ('11) for seventh all-time.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 89-28 (76.2%) 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.
Three Sign Their NLIs
Coach Gaitley and the program announced three future additions to the team as Anna DeWolfe, Eden Johnson, and Sarah Karpell signed their National Letters of Intent. To read more about the newest Rams, click here.
 
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 613-361 all-time record. She became the program's all-time winningest coach in 2016, also against the Bonnies, and has a 149-91 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.
 
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll Results
For the second year in a row the Rams have themselves a preseason First Team All-Conference honoree. Last year it was senior G'mrice Davis but this year it is redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh, who finished up a sensational rookie campaign with Second Team and All-Rookie distinction plus being named the MBWA's Metropolitan Rookie of the Year. The team, meanwhile, was predicted to finish in a tie for third place, alongside reigning conference champions, George Washington, in what is the highest the Rams have ever been in the annual poll under Coach Gaitley.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
Fordham is 36-3 over its last two-plus seasons when scoring 60 points or more, including a 16-3 mark a year ago and 5-0 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.
 
Career Milestone Watch
- Bre Cavanaugh is 31 points away from 800
- Bre Cavanaugh is two field goals away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is nine three-pointers away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is 18 free throws away from 200
- Bre Cavanaugh is 18 assists away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is six starts and games played away from 50
- Mary Goulding is eight starts away from 50
- Mary Goulding is 39 field goals away from 200
- Mary Goulding is 34 rebounds away from 350
- Lauren Holden is 89 points away from 1,000
- Lauren Holden is 30 three-pointers away from 200
- Lauren Holden is seven starts away from 100
- Lauren Holden is 46 minutes away from 3,600
- Lauren Holden is 29 assists away from 250
 - Zara Jillings is 29 assists away from 100
 
Up Next
The Rams have 10 days off before traveling to nearby Iona for a noon tip-off on Friday, December 21st.