Women's Basketball Takes on Saint Joseph's in A-10 Quarterfinals Friday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The three-seeded Fordham women's basketball team (22-8, 12-4 A-10) trounced #14 Rhode Island in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Tuesday night in the Bronx, 75-53, leading by as much as 37 points late in the third quarter. The Rams have now advanced to the quarterfinals for a second meeting with #6 Saint Joseph's (16-13, 10-6 A-10) within the last seven days. The two schools will play the fourth and last contest of tomorrow's full slate, set for 7 p.m.
 
Last Time Out vs. Rhode Island
The battle of the Rams in the A-10 Championship opening round started slowly, just 7-6 in favor of the visitors at the field media timeout. Fordham wasted no time in retaking the lead and building upon on it, however, with a 10-2 run to close out the quarter. Fordham was a force on both sides of the ball in the second frame and outscored the (visiting) Rams, 25-5, over those 10 minutes to take a 41-14 halftime lead. Fordham kept at it, winning the third, 19-10, before the benches began to clear in the fourth as Rhode Island fought back to erase 14 points off its deficit leading to the final 23-point margin.
 
G'mrice Davis led the way with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 7-of-8 from the charity stripe and 16 rebounds, plus two blocks and a steal over 36 minutes. Bre Cavanaugh and Lauren Holden combined for 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting, 6-of-13 from behind the arc, and nine assists, with six coming from Holden, matching her season-high. Mary Goulding added a nice all-around line of seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and a career-high four steals, while Zara Jillings chipped in five boards and five dimes off the bench.
 
Series History vs. Saint Joseph's
With last Saturday's game, Saint Joseph's, one of Fordham's oldest opponents, improved to 38-9 all-time against the Rams. The Hawks were victorious, 48-23, in the 1971-72 season and won 19 of the first 20 meetings until the Rams took their first in 1996, 61-50, in Philadelphia. When Stephanie Gaitley helmed the Hawks, they held a 12-1 record over Fordham during those years. Since she joined Fordham, she holds a 6-6 record against her former school.

Davis Named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year
The senior forward anchored the Atlantic 10's top scoring defense, ranked 19th in the country, and led the Rams with 44 steals and 15 blocks. Davis also repeated as a member of the All-Conference First Team and the All-Defense team. Read more about her season, here.

Cavanaugh Earns Second Team All-Conference
The redshirt freshman took off after waiting two years to officially compete in a college game, averaging 16.4 points across 38.3 minutes in 30 consecutive starts. Cavanaugh set a school record with 37 points in a double overtime loss at Saint Louis, just days after scoring 34 in a one-point loss to eventual champions Dayton at home. She is the fourth Ram rookie to notch multiple 30-point performances and sixth overall. She also recorded seven steals against Rhode Island in early February, second-most in a single game in school history. Read more about her year, here.

Davis Becomes Second Ram to Reach 1,000 Career Points and Rebounds
G'mrice Davis scored her 1,000th point with her first basket at Albany on November 19, the 20th Ram to ever reach the feat. She has steadily risen up the all-time scoring list and recently joined the all-time top-10. The Philadelphia native sits on 1,449 career points, having just passed Nicole Williams ('92) for fifth all-time. Meanwhile, with Davis' 14th and final rebound at VCU on January 14, she reached the 1,000 rebound milestone, as well, becoming the second Ram to accomplish both feats, alongside Fordham Hall of Famer Anne Gregory O'Connell. However, Davis is still 847 boards away from tying her, though.
 
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 Fordham, 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 25, on her birthday, to boot, and currently holds a 606-354 all-time record.
 
20 Wins
With their 66-45 win over La Salle, the Rams reached 20 wins for a second consecutive campaign and a fifth time since Stephanie Gaitley became head coach. In fact, the Fordham women's basketball 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), and Gaitley has five of them. This season's 22 wins are tied with last year's total for fifth-most in program history. This is Gaitley's 17th time winning 20 games or more in her 32-year career.
 
Top-20 Ranked Defense
Stephanie Gaitley's Rams have spent the majority of this season in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense, as high as fourth and as low as 28th after allowing a season-high 79 points in regulation at Dayton last Sunday. After holding the Dukes to 43 and Hawks to 52, they are now back in the top 20 at 19th. The Rams have allowed just 11 60-point games this season and have a 10-0 record when opponents score below 50. All other opponents this season have scored between 33 and 59 points, with just 13 of its 30 opponents reaching the 55-point barrier. Opponents are shooting 39.9% from the field but just 28.9% from behind the arc, ranked first in-conference and 47th 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 them.
 
Rams Third in A-10 in RPI
The Rams began at 65th in the initial NCAA RPI and hovered for a few weeks between there and 59th. Fordham currently sits 79th overall. Only Dayton (31st) and Duquesne (71st) are ahead in-conference. This year, Fordham has wins over Northern Colorado (37th), UC Davis (58th), St. John's (69th), Duquesne (71st), George Washington (101st), George Mason (105th), and Saint Louis (124th), and played Dayton, Penn State (86th) and Albany (77th) tight, while holding UCLA (10th) to its eighth-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, ranked second in all of Division I with 10.3 defensive boards per contest, second with 13.6 rebounds per game, and third with 382 total boards. The senior's 25 double-doubles ranks third in the country, as well. Davis has tallied at least 11 points, 11 rebounds, and one steal in all but eight 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. Among active Division I players, Davis is second with 1,152 career rebounds, behind Stephanie Mavunga of Ohio State (1,182) and ahead of South Carolina's A'Ja Wilson (1,116). Davis' 55 career double-doubles are currently most among all active players, ahead of George Mason's Natalie Butler, who has 54, and Mavunga and Iowa's Megan Gustafson, who have 53.
 
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 25th in Division I with just 14.5 personal fouls per game, and 64th with 434 total fouls. The former ranks first in the conference, the latter second At the free throw line, the Rams convert on 76.1% of their attempts, which currently ranks joint-third all-time in program history with last year's team, and sits first in-conference and 26th in the country. Part of the team's success on defense comes from limiting opposing rebounds and three-point shooting. Fordham grabs just 37.9 rebounds per contest (158th) but has a rebounding margin of +7.4, which ranks 29th in the country, thanks to holding opponents to just 30.5 boards per game. Foes are also shooting just 28.9% from behind the arc, which ranks 47th in the country. The Rams have done better at taking care of the ball, too, with just 13.9 turnovers per game, ranked 66th overall.
 
Lauren Holden ranks second in all of Division I in minutes played per game, at 39.1, and first in total minutes at 1,173. The junior guard played all 50 minutes twice this year (at St. John's and at Saint Louis), and has gone the distance in 17 of 30 games this season. Aside from outings of 29, 33, and 34 minutes, the junior has played at least 36 minutes in every game. Bre Cavanaugh and G'mrice Davis have also been asked to log heavy minutes this year, ranked sixth and 36th,, respectively, at 38.3 and 36.8 minutes. Both Cavanaugh and Davis rank within the top-140 in points per game, at 139th and 109th, respectively. They are also within the top-100 in field goals attempts, at 52nd and 95th, respectively, with 439 and 415, while Davis sits 65th in the country, and second in the A-10, with 190 field goals to-date. Cavanaugh has been excellent from the line, hitting the second-most free throws by a Fordham rookie and ninth overall in the program's history, with 127. That number ranks 43rd nationally, while her 83.6% shooting clip ranks 52nd.
 
Cavanaugh Among Freshmen Nationally
Bre Cavanaugh already ranks within the top-100 and top-150 overall in several categories thanks to a fantastic debut campaign in maroon and white but among her rookie colleagues, she is at or near the top of those lists. Her 38.3 minutes per game ranks first among all freshmen and her 83.6% free-throw clip ranks fourth. Cavanaugh has attempted the fifth-most free throws (152) and hits the second-most, with 127. She's also ranked third with 492 total points and 439 field goal attempts, fifth with 156 field goals, and seventh in three-point attempts (190).
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
A staple of the Gaitley-led Rams is defense, and no stat better represents that than Fordham's 56-5 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. Since that streak ended, the Rams have rattled off 13 wins dating back to last February. Fordham was 10-1 last year overall when holding opponents under 50 points and are now 10-0 this season, including three of the last four opponents at or below 45.
 
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 55.7 points per game, which ranks 19th in the country.

More to come...