Women's Basketball Opens A-10 Play at George Washington

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (9-5) wrapped up its 2018 nonconference schedule with its second consecutive Holiday Classic crown and now readies itself for the Atlantic 10 opener this Saturday morning against the reigning champions, George Washington (3-10). Tip-off on CBS Sports Network is set for 11:05 a.m.
 
Go4TheGoal
Tomorrow both team schools will be wearing gold shoelaces for Go4TheGoal, an organization dedicated to raising support and awareness for pediatric cancer patients. To make a donation, please visit their website. Any amount helps. 

Last Time Out
The Rams advanced to the championship game of their Holiday Classic with an overtime victory over Maine last Saturday afternoon, thanks to Bre Cavanaugh's season-high-matching 27 points and Kaitlyn Downey's equalizing layup after an offensive rebound at the end of regulation. Fordham was outshot in the contest and committed 12 turnovers but Cavanaugh's heroics, including 22 points after halftime and a season-high five three-pointers, pushed Fordham over the top. The redshirt sophomore scored the game winner on the team's first possession of overtime.
 
Fordham used a 20-9 fourth-quarter surge to push past Middle Tennessee State on Sunday for the tournament title. The Blue Raiders led by one at halftime and the Rams led by one entering the final period but hot shooting (61.5%) and stout defense (28.6% shooting by Middle Tennessee) in the fourth propelled Fordham to victory. The Rams were led by seniors Mary Goulding, who matched her season-high with 16 points, to go with seven rebounds and five assists, and Lauren Holden, who made it four straight double-digit scoring efforts in a row with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting overall, 3-of-5 from deep, and three assists. Cavanaugh failed to reach double figures for the first time all season, scoring seven points, but led the team with 10 rebounds, four steals, and one block, plus three assists. The Rams shot 48.0% overall, including a season-best 47.4% from behind the arc, and committed just 10 turnovers to 17 assists.
 
Series History vs. George Washington
The Colonials hold a 20-5 all-time advantage since 1996, the first year Fordham competed in the Atlantic 10. George Washington won the first 16 contests in the series until Fordham prevailed, 59-56, in the Bronx in 2011. Since then the series is tied at an even 4-4. The Rams downed the Colonials, 61-50, on New Years Eve last season in the Bronx.
 
Holding Onto the Rock
Fordham is fourth in the country in limiting turnovers, with just 11.0 per game through the team's first 14 contests and behind only UConn, Oregon, and Wyoming, the only four to average fewer than 11. The Rams have coughed the ball up just 153 times, 12th-fewest in the country despite playing two or more games than the schools ahead of them. Only 15 schools have played more games. Fordham has committed between seven and 15 turnovers thus far this season, with four single-digit turnover performances. The season-low seven turnovers came against Charlotte on November 18th, 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 seven or fewer since December 9th, 2017 against Iona, when they had six. Fordham has 3.0 fewer turnovers than the next A-10 team, Saint Louis.
 
The Rams have three of the top 11 in assist/turnover ratio in the Atlantic 10. Zara Jillings (2.6) is second in the league, and Kaitlyn Downey and Bre Cavanaugh are tied for ninth (1.6). All seven Rams who are averaging 15 or more minutes have a positive assist/turnover ratio.
 
Cavanaugh Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Again
The redshirt sophomore earned MVP honors of the Fordham Holiday Classic last weekend by averaging 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals en route to the Rams' second straight crown at their own tournament. Cavanaugh picked up her second ever Player of the Week honor after earning four Rookie of the Week accolades last year. Earlier this season, Cavanaugh garnered the award for a first time with an excellent performance at the Gulf Coast Showcase, leading Fordham to the championship game by averaging 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 of three games. Read more about it by clicking here.
 
Coach Gaitley Reaches 150 Fordham Victories
The 68-49 win over Columbia was head coach Stephanie Gaitley's 150th in charge of the Fordham women's basketball program. She became the program's all-time winningest coach in 2016 and picked up career victory number 600 last year.
 
Other milestone Fordham victories for Coach Gaitley include:
                - First win: at home against Cleveland State, 52-43, on 11/16/11
                - 50th win: at home against Saint Louis, 74-52, on 1/2/14
                - 63rd win: in the A-10 Championship game against Dayton, 63-51, on 3/9/14, in Richmond, Va.
                - 100th win: against Little Rock, 65-43, at home in the opening round of the preseason WNIT on 11/19/16
                - 116th win (to become program's leader in wins): vs. Massachusetts, 74-43, on 2/11/17
 
Kiwis Coming Through
Fordham's New Zealand 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 #10/9 Texas in the Gulf Coast Showcase final.
 
Goulding and Heremaia are second and third on the team in scoring, respectively, with 10.5 and 8.9 points per game, and second and first in assists, with 39 and 35, respectively, while Jillings chips in 4.9 points and 26 assists off the bench. The Kiwis have combined to average 24.3 points per game, or 38.6% of the team's scoring, 14.7 rebounds (42.5% of the team's rebounding), and an even 100 assists, or 54.4% of the team's total of 184. Against Manhattan on December 1st was the first time all three have started together.
 
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 (174-of-480 – 36.3%). Five different Rams already have at least 21 offensive boards and seven are in double figures. Mary Goulding leads the way with 41-of-93 offensive boards, Kaitlyn Downey has 24, Megan Jonassen has 23, Bre Cavanaugh has 22, and Zara Jillings has 21. Kendell Heremaia has 15. Fordham has had between 14 and 19 offensive rebounds in eight contests this year, including the first six of the year. The Rams matched their season-high with 19 against Maine.
 
Holden Ascending the All-Time Ranks
Having played the sixth-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 recent hot shooting from deep has pushed her into the all-time top-five for three-pointers made, past Maureen Garvey ('01) and current Director of Ops Abigail Corning ('14), with 177 career long-range makes. Next is Suzanne Maguire, who has 200. Her 84.3% career rate from the free-throw line sits fifth all-time, as well. She is also on pace to become the 21st member of the program's 1,000-point club, currently at 957, as well as break the record for career minutes played and enter the top-five for games played and stated, currently at 112 and 97, respectively.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 14 games to open the 2018-19 season, the Rams have had seven double-doubles by four different players. Redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh, who had zero entering this season, leads the way with three, following her 15-point, 12-rebound outburst at Iona last week. Senior Mary Goulding has two near-identical ones - grabbing 12 rebounds twice and scoring 16 against Charlotte and 15 at Northeastern. 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.
 
Heremaia Raising the Bar
Sophomore Kendell Heremaia has been terrific for the Rams this year, starting all 14 contests, after making seven starts in 33 appearances last year, leading the team with 39 assists, and averaging 8.9 points per game. 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. Heremaia has hit at least one three-pointer in all but three games and has shot 50% or better in six contests. Prior to her cold shooting against Columbia and Iona, the sophomore was shooting 47.7% from the field and 43.2% from behind the arc. Heremaia is also chipping in 4.4 rebounds, third-highest on the team. She has played 25 or more minutes in 10 contests.
 
Mary Goulding Named Atlantic 10 and National Jesuit Player of the Week
The New Zealand international earned her first weekly career accolades a month 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.
 
G'mrice Thriving in Greece
Former Fordham standout forward G'mrice Davis, the program's first All-American honorable mention, signed her first professional contract with GAS Kalyvion in the Greek A1 league over the summer and, through her team's first seven contests, is leading the league in scoring (18.1 points per game) and rebounding (15.3 per game), and is chipping in 1.9 steals, as well, as Kalyvion is fourth in the table with a 4-3 record. The top four teams in the league advance to the playoffs. Eurobasket.com named G'mrice the league's Player of the Week last week. Click here to read an interview with G'mrice about her time abroad.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 48 contests in her Fordham career and has been nothing short of spectacular for the Rams during her 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 38.4 minutes per game so far in her career. She is averaging 17.4 points per game with 272 field goals, 97 three-pointers, and 196 free throws, with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game, a 91-73 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 58 steals. She is on pace to join the 1,000-point club next month, currently at 837 career points. Cavanaugh has only been held to single-digit scoring five times in her career and has 18 games of 20 or more points. She became the fourth Fordham rookie last year to record multiple 30-point games and just the sixth player, in any class, to accomplish the feat, as well, with her 37-point game at Saint Louis (1/31/18) serving as the fourth-most by a Fordham player ever and the Atlantic 10's season-high all of last year.
 
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), and is on pace to break the all-time school record, currently held by current Director of Player Development Samantha Clark, who played 4,156 minutes in her career (current Director of Ops Abigail Corning in next with 4,154). Bre Cavanaugh was right there with her last season, 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 second in the country with 38.5 minutes played per game and Holden is fifth at 38.2. A starter midway through her freshman year, Holden became the 15th Ram to surpass 3,000 career minutes, now up to 3,715 for her career, which ranks sixth all-time, recently passing Annie Zopf ('09) against Charlotte, Denise Hammersley ('95) against Ball State, Kristina Bell ('11) against Columbia, and now Suzanne Maguire ('97) against Middle Tennessee State.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 92-28 (76.7%) record at home across 120 contests. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rams are 36-7 in the Bronx, including a 13-3 mark in conference play and two Holiday Classic crowns. Last year, Fordham finished 15-3 at home overall and 6-2 in league action. On the flip side, Gaitley's Rams are 61-63 (49.2%) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
Fordham is 39-4 over its last two-plus seasons when scoring 60 points or more, including a 16-3 mark a year ago and 8-1 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. The loss at Pittsburgh was the first while scoring over 60 since a double-overtime loss at Saint Louis last January 31st.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
No stat better represents the Gaitley-infused defense than Fordham's 59-5 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 15 such wins. Fordham is 24-1 in its last 25 contests with rivals scoring under 50 points, including this year's three instances against Columbia, Iona, and Middle Tennesseee State.
 
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.
 
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. Click here to read more.
 
Career Milestone Watch
- Bre Cavanaugh is 63 points away from 900
- Bre Cavanaugh is three three-pointers away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is four free throws away from 200
- Bre Cavanaugh is nine assists away from 100
- Bre Cavanaugh is 45 rebounds away from 300
- Bre Cavanaugh is two 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
- Kendell Heremaia is 31 assists away from 100
- Kendell Heremaia is 13 three-pointers away from 50
- Lauren Holden is 43 points away from 1,000
- Lauren Holden is 23 three-pointers away from 200
- Lauren Holden is three starts away from 100
- Lauren Holden is 18 assists away from 250
 - Zara Jillings is 22 assists away from 100
 
Up Next
Fordham returns home to host VCU next Wednesday afternoon at 12 p.m. on ESPN+.