Women's Basketball Clinches Second Straight Holiday Classic Crown

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team claimed a second straight Holiday Classic crown with Sunday afternoon's 61-49 win in the championship game against Middle Tennessee State. The Rams outscored the Blue Raiders, 20-9, over the final 10 minutes to surge to victory. Bre Cavanaugh was named Tournament MVP after averaging 17.0 points and seniors Mary Goulding and Lauren Holden were also named to the All-Tournament team. With the win, their fourth straight, the Rams improve to 9-5 overall, while the Blue Raiders fall to 9-4.
 
"I'm really proud of our kids for such a terrific overall win against a strong Middle Tennessee State team," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "It was great to see us put together our best 40 minutes as we head into conference play. Being 9-5 in nonconference with our schedule really says a lot about how much this team has grown."
 
The game started much as it ended, with two separate runs by both teams. After a scoreless opening two minutes and an early Blue Raider timeout, Fordham kicked off the scoring with eight unanswered points capped by a Cavanaugh three-point play. After being held scoreless for three-and-a-half minutes, Middle Tennessee State responded with a lengthy run of its own, scoring 10 unanswered and eventually holding a 13-12 lead at the end of the period.
 
The Rams would hold two one-point leads in the second quarter, one at the beginning and one towards the end, but the Blue Raiders took a one-point lead into the halftime break, 28-27. The margin had been four a minute earlier but Kendell Heremaia hit a timely three to cap the half's scoring.
 
Fordham retook the lead to start the second half on a Holden floater following a Kaitlyn Downey offensive rebound and pushed its lead to four on a Downey triple a minute later. However, the visitors chipped away, stringing together a 6-0 run to get back on top briefly. Following a tie at 33-33, the two schools traded leads, with Middle Tennessee State going up by four but Fordham finished the quarter on an 8-3 run and a one-point lead, 41-40. The Rams wouldn't trailed by less than two the rest of the way.
 
Goulding scored three of her eight fourth-quarter points on the opening possession with a long-range make, following another Downey offensive board, and the latter made it a six-point lead with a fast break layup. A'Queen Hayes got the Blue Raiders within two with five minutes to play, 51-49, with a layup, but the Rams closed on a 10-0 run.
 
Hayes led all players with 21 points but Goulding led the Rams by matching her season-high of 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 2-of-3 from deep, with seven rebounds and a game-high five assists over 40 minutes. Cavanaugh failed to reach double figures in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with seven, but added a team-high 10 rebounds to go with four steals, matching her season-high, three assists, and a block over 40 minutes. Holden added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 3-of-5 from downtown, with three assists. All four of Downey's rebounds came on the offensive glass and the freshman contributed eight points and two assists in 20 minutes.
 
Fordham shot 61.5% in the fourth quarter to up their game total to 48.0%, including a season-high clip of 37.4% from beyond the arc, while holding Middle Tennessee State to 39.6% overall shooting. The Rams outrebounded the Blue Raiders, 27-25, including 9-8 on the offensive end, and enjoyed a 16/10 assist/turnover ratio.
 
The 49 points match the second-fewest number allowed by the Rams this season and are the third instance in the last four games, all wins, with an opponent scoring under 50 points. Fordham is 59-5 all-time under Coach Gaitley in such games.
 
Next up for the Rams is the start of Atlantic 10 play with a nationally-televised contest at reigning conference champions, George Washington, next Saturday morning, January 5^th, at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP: Bre Cavanaugh (Fordham)
Mary Goulding (Fordham)
Lauren Holden (Fordham)
A'Queen Hayes (Middle Tennessee State)
Eboni Williams (Chattanooga)
Blanca Millan (Maine)