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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (0-2) looks to pick up its first win of the season when it heads to Penn State (1-1) on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on BTN+ and WFUV 90.7 FM.
 
Last Time Out
The Rams' Notre Dame hangover extended into Sunday's loss at Columbia as Fordham suffered its fourth-largest loss in the past season and a half. Leading by one, 31-30, in the final seconds of the first half, the Lions got a last-second basket to fall to lead at the intermission and, after a Mikayla Markham layup two minutes into the second half, the hosts never trailed again. After hitting 12-of-25 from the floor over the first two periods, the Rams offense fell flat with a combined 8-of-28 (28.6%) line from the floor, including a 2-of-8 mark from downtown. Sophomore Kaitlyn Downey was certainly a bright spot for Fordham, tallying a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 3-of-4 from behind the arc, with three rebounds, two assists, and a block over 32 minutes. Kendell Heremaia added 13 points, four boards, an assist, a block, and a steal, and Anna DeWolfe chipped in nine points, six rebounds, and two assists. Bre Cavanaugh was held below 10 points for just the eighth time in her career, scoring eight on 2-of-11 shooting with a team-high seven boards.
 
Series History vs. Penn State
The Rams have never defeated the Lady Lions in six tries dating back to 1994. That first meeting was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after the program's first league championship, then in the Patriot League. Every other contest has taken place since 2013, with all but last year's game happening in Happy Valley. Over the past two seasons, Bre Cavanaugh is averaging 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals against the Lady Lions but has struggled with her shooting. Kendell Heremaia tallied 11 points and four boards last year but struggled with foul trouble two years ago. Kaitlyn Downey's lone double-double last year came against Penn State, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
1,000
Head coach Stephanie Gaitley, the program's winningest coach, has joined the 1,000-game club with Sunday's game at Columbia. She has amassed a 633-367 career record over 34 seasons at five schools.
 
Downey's Fast Start
The tri-captain has began her sophomore campaign impressively, averaging 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 assists over 32.5 minutes game, while shooting 44.0% from the field and 33.0% from deep. Downey was immense defensively against #16 Notre Dame, racking up a team-high 11 rebounds, five steals, and two blocks to go with seven points, the last two of which got the Rams within two, 57-55, with 11 seconds left in regulation. At Columbia, Downey poured in a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.  
 
Near Trip-Dub
Freshman Anna DeWolfe was incredibly impressive in her first collegiate game, showing no fear in the close loss to perennial powerhouse Notre Dame. The Cumberland, Maine native played 37 minutes, second-most on the team, with a facemask on after an injury suffered during practice a few weeks ago, and nearly recorded the team's third triple-double in its history and first since Erin Rooney's in January 2014. DeWolfe racked up 10 points, nine rebounds, and a team-high nine assists, plus a steal, but struggled with her shot a bit, hitting 5-of-16 from the floor, including 0-of-6 from behind the arc. She was named Miss Maine Basketball each of the past two years and is one of the most decorated high school players in the state's history.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 70 contests in her Fordham career and has been nothing short of spectacular for the Rams during her time in maroon and white. The redshirt junior became the third-fastest Ram to reach 1,000 career points, doing so in 60 contests, and has already amassed 2,681 career minutes, finishing each of the last two seasons within the top-10 in that category. She's already moved into the top-10 for three-pointers, now ninth with 143, eighth with 264 free throws, and is fourth all-time with a 16.9 point-per-game average. Cavanaugh has been held to single digit scoring just eight times in her career and has 26 games of 20 or more points, including 37 points two seasons ago, fourth-most in school history, and what was the Atlantic 10's highest output that year.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 98-31 (76.0%) record at home across 129 contests. Over the last three seasons, the Rams are 41-10 in the Bronx, including a 19-5 mark in conference play and two Holiday Classic crowns. Last year, Fordham finished 12-3 at home overall and 6-2 in league action. On the flip side, Gaitley's Rams are 71-65 (52.2%) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
No stat better represents the Gaitley-infused defense than Fordham's 69-6 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. The team's 47-44 loss to VCU on January 16th snapped a streak of 16 straight wins. A new streak began soon after with a 56-38 win at Rhode Island, which has reached eight games entering this season.
 
Rams in the Pros
G'mrice Davis, who graduated in 2017, currently plays professionally with Bnot Hertzeliya in Israel after spending time in Greece with GAS Kalyvion and Australia with the Rockland Cyclones, which featured her former teammate and 2019 graduate Mary Goulding. Mary finished her season strong and moved on to Sweden, where she now plays for IK Eos. Lauren Holden, who graduated in 2019, immediately moved into coaching, joining up with former associate head coach Angelika Szumilo at Fairleigh Dickinson as one of her assistants.
 
Up Next
The Rams return home to host Coach Gaitley's alma mater, Villanova, on Sunday at 5 p.m.