Women's Basketball at Pittsburgh on Wednesday Night

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (5-4) embarks on its third road trip in the past 10 days when it travels to Pittsburgh (5-4) for a Wednesday night match-up. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
Fans can watch on ACC Network Extra or the WatchESPN app, listen on WFUV, and/or follow along with live stats via the links above.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams bounced back from a pair of losses to defeat Manhattan, 65-61, in the 50th Battle of the Bronx on Saturday afternoon, although the hosts had to rally back with a big fourth quarter. Manhattan led for much of the contest but Bre Cavanaugh scored 12 of her season-high 27 points in the final 10 minutes, including a late three-pointer with 90 seconds left, to spark Fordham to victory. Tied at the half, the hosts were held to just nine points on 2-of-12 shooting in the third quarter. Once again, however, the defense kept the Rams in the game by holding Manhattan to 12 points. That opened the door for the Rams to take control of the game by shooting 7-of-15 from the field over the final 10 minutes for the win. Manhattan was able to tie the game at 61-61 when Julie Hoier hit her second free throw, after missing the first, but Megan Jonassen provided the game winner on the other end with a critical offensive rebound and putback, and Lauren Holden sank both of her free throws to put the game out of reach with seconds remaining.
 
Cavanaugh's 27 points were a season-high, while her 11 rebounds were a career-high, giving her her second-ever double-double. The redshirt sophomore added three assists and two steals over 40 minutes. Mary Goulding returned from a one-game absence to finish with nine points, five rebounds, a block, and a steal, and Zara Jillings chipped in an efficient six points while remaining in the starting lineup. Kendell Heremaia led the Rams with five assists, matching her career-high.
 
Series History vs. Pittsburgh
The Panthers hold a 2-1 all-time advance since 2003. Pittsburgh won each of the home & home contests in 2003-04 by a combined 21 points but Fordham was victorious a year ago, 58-55, in the Rose Hill Gym, and did so without the help of star senior G'mrice Davis. Cavanaugh led the Rams with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and Goulding chipped in 17 points, 11 boards, and three dimes to lead the Rams. Holden added 10 points and Heremaia notched six points and seven boards in the win.
 
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.
 
Holding Onto the Rock
Fordham leads the country in turnovers per game, with just 10.6 through nine 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 last 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 (3.6) is tops in the league, Kaitlyn Downey sits in fifth (2.3), Bre Cavanaugh is tied for seventh (2.0), and Megan Jonassen (1.9) is tied for ninth.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through nine 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 10.6 and 10.3 points per game. Heremaia leads the squad with 25 assists and the other two are each tied for third with 18 dimes. The Kiwis has combined to average 26.3 points per game, or 42.3% of the team's scoring, and 15.1 rebounds, or 42.8% of the team's rebounding. Saturday against Manhattan was the first time all three have started together.
 
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 (114-of-318 – 35.9%). Five different Rams already have at least 12 offensive boards. Mary Goulding has 28-of-59 offensive boards, Megan Jonassen is next with 15 already off the bench, Bre Cavanaugh has 14, and both Zara Jillings and Kaitlyn Downey each have 13. Fordham had had between 14 and 19 offensive rebounds in each of the first six games of the year before a combined 18 the last three games.
 
Heremaia Cruising
Sophomore Kendell Heremaia has started all nine 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 over 33 appearances (seven starts). 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.
 
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.
 
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 167 career three-pointers, four 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 902, as well as enter the top-five for games played and stated, currently at 107 and 92, respectively.
 
Three Games in Three Days
The Gulf Coast Showcase featured three games in three days, which the Rams went 2-1 in reaching the championship game against #10/9 Texas. The last time the Rams had played three straight, they won the 2014 Atlantic 10 championship, 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.
 
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 149-90 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.
 
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 3,515 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.