Women's Basketball at St. Bonaventure Saturday

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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (18-8, 9-3 A-10) will take a five-game winning streak into its penultimate road contest of the regular season this Saturday at St. Bonaventure (7-17, 4-7 A-10). Tip-off from the Reilly Center is set for 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham overcame an early deficit to eventually lead by double digits for the majority of Sunday's win over George Mason during the team's annual Pink game, as well as Alumni Day and National Girls & Women in Sports Day. The Fordham defense forced the Patriots into 20 turnovers, scoring 21 points off them, to go with a season-high 15 steals, the most by the program since 2013. The Rams went on two runs in the first half to establish their first double-digit lead. The Patriots led the game off with four consecutive made baskets to lead, 8-4, but the Rams began a 9-0 run a few minutes later, starting with the eventual game-winning basket, a Mary Goulding layup to take a 12-11 lead. Bre Cavanaugh then drained a three, converted a tough layup in traffic, and then fed Megan Jonassen off a steal for an easy lay-in. After the first 10 minutes, the Rams had seven steals and Mason had nine turnovers. George Mason got within three midway through the second period but Cavanaugh and Lauren Holden combined for four triples heading into the half with an 11-point lead. The Patriots wouldn't get within eight the rest of the way.
 
Cavanaugh finished with 22 points, her eighth 20-point effort of the season, on 8-of-19 shooting, 4-of-11 from downtown, while Goulding matched her career-high of 19 points on 7-of-13 shots, 3-of-4 from the line, and 2-of-7 from behind the arc, to go with seven boards, a career-high-tying four steals, and a pair of assists. Holden added a game-high five assists to go with eight points and two steals.
 
Series History vs. St. Bonaventure
Saturday will be the 40th meeting between the two schools, with the Bonnies holding an all-time 22-17 advantange since 1996. St. Bonaventure enjoyed the majority of success through most of the rivalry but since a 62-50 win in the Bronx at the end of the 2012-13 season, the Rams have won seven of nine, including four straight. Last year, Fordham won, 72-48, in the Bronx, in Coach Gaitley's 600th career victory. Mary Goulding tallied a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double with a team-high four assists, while Bre Cavanaugh and Lauren Holden combined for 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
 
Goulding Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
The senior co-captain has been instrumental in the team's success in league play so far and her play has been rewarded this week with her second-ever weekly honor. The Rangiora, New Zealand native averaged a double-double (15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds) in wins over Saint Louis and George Mason last week. Against the Billikens, Goulding hauled in nine offensive boards of 13 total to go with 12 rebounds, two assists, and a block. In a win over the Patriots, Goulding matched her career-highs of 19 points and four steals, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor, 5-of-6 from inside the arc, with seven boards, and two more dimes. Read more here.
 
Swiper No Swiping
Fordham is tied for second in the country in limiting turnovers, with just 11.3 per game. Fordham has committed between five and 15 turnovers thus far this season in all but one game, with five single-digit turnover performances and 10 games with 10 or less. The team's five turnovers at Saint Louis were the fewest since the 2012-13 squad committed just four against Holy Cross on January 6 of that year.
 
The Rams have five of the top 20 in assist/turnover ratio in the Atlantic 10. Zara Jillings is tied for third (1.8), Mary Goulding is tied for 11th (1.5), and Lauren Holden, Bre Cavanaugh, and Kaitlyn Downey are tied for 16th (1.3). All six Rams who are averaging 20 or more minutes have a positive assist/turnover ratio and the team, as a whole, has a 345-293 ratio, ranked 37th in the country and tops in the A-10 (1.17).
 
Top-20 Defense
Once again, Stephanie Gaitley's Rams are within the top-20 in scoring defense in the country, currently situated at 16th with 55.4 points allowed per game. The Rams' defense has ramped things up in conference action, as well, holding rivals to just 50.2 per game. Out of 12 games so far, 10 opponents have been held under 55 points and six under 50.
 
Conference Only
The Rams are 9-3 in Atlantic 10 action thus far, with a 5-1 record on the road. The team is playing its typically stout Gaitley-inspired defense, holding opponents to just 50.2 points per game, second in the league, with just two opponents scoring over 55 points and six held under 50. Bre Cavanaugh leads the charge offensively with 13.9 points per game, while Mary Goulding is averaging close to a double-double (12.2 points, 9.3 rebounds) with a team-high 38 assists. She also has 17 steals and is shooting 35.0% from deep. Lauren Holden is chipping in 10.4 points on 38.7% shooting from long range with 36 assists, and Kendell Heremaia has averages of 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds, with 28 assists and 17 steals.
 
Five in Five
The Rams have rattled off five straight wins with an average margin of 59.6-49.2 and no opponent scoring over 54 points. Mary Goulding is averaging a double-double of 13.6 points and 10.2 rebounds (23-of-51 on the offensive end) with a team-high 20 assists and 10 steals over 39.4 minutes per game. Bre Cavanaugh (12.6) and Lauren Holden (11.2) are both in double figures, as well. Cavanaugh is shooting just 31.1% over this stretch and Holden at 37.0% but all other players with at least 15 minutes per game are shooting 40% or better. Freshmen Kaitlyn Downey has stepped up with 48.3% overall shooting and 38.9% from deep, while Goulding is converting on 46.3% of her attempts. Five Rams have attempted at least 18 three-point attempts, as well, and, excluding Cavanugh, the four others are shooting at least 35.0% from long range. The team is averaging 7.6 steals during this run, as well, and limiting opponents to just 28.8 rebounds per game.
 
#ShareTheRock
The Rams have a 345/293 assist/turnover ratio through 26 games, ranked 37th in the country (1.17), and no one player stands above the rest in terms of spreading the wealth on offense. Four different players have between 60 and 73 dimes on the year: Mary Goulding leads the squad with 73, Kendell Heremaia and Lauren Holden are close behind with  67 apiece, respectively, while Bre Cavanaugh havs 60. Zara Jillings has 42, as well, off the bench. All six players averaging over 19 minutes have a positive assist/turnover ratio.
 
Bombs Away!
The 2018-19 Rams have already recorded the fourth-most three-pointers in program history, with 190. Five different Rams have at least 24 threes on the season. Coach Gaitley's Rams have all top-five spots in the all-time ranks, led by the title-winning 2013-14 squad, who drained 244 triples. Fordham is 15th in the country in three-point attempts (628), 41st in makes (190), and 76th in makes per game (7.3), with all three ranking first in the A-10. 
 
121st in RPI
The Rams are 121st overall in the RPI standings as of February 14th and third in the A-10, behind VCU (103) and Dayton (114).
 
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 new career-best 17 points against #10/9 Texas in the Gulf Coast Showcase final. Heremaia set a new career-high with 16 rebounds against Saint Louis, the most since G'mrice Davis hauled in 18 against Saint Joseph's last March 2nd. Goulding was a big part of the team's win at La Salle, as well, posting a monster all-around line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, the latter two matching her career-highs, and is averaging nearly a double-double in conference action.
 
Goulding and Heremaia are second and fourth on the team in scoring, respectively, with 11.3 and 8.0 points per game, are first and second in assists, with 73 and 67, respectively, and first and third in rebounding, with 8.2 and 5.4, respectively, while Jillings chips in 3.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 42 assists off the bench. The Kiwis have combined to average 23.0 points per game, or 38.6% of the team's scoring, 16.5 rebounds (46.7% of the team's rebounding), and 182 assists, or 52.8% of the team's total of 345. Against Manhattan on December 1st was the first of three times 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 in 2018-19, hauling in just over that mark (318-of-917 – 34.7%). Six different Rams have at least 32 offensive boards: Mary Goulding leads the way with 85-of-204 offensive boards (41.7%), Megan Jonassen has two fewer offensive (47) than defensive (49), Bre Cavanaugh has 39, Kaitlyn Downey has 37, Kendell Heremaia has 34, and Zara Jillings has 32. Fordham has had between 12 and 19 offensive rebounds in 16 contests this year, including the first six of the year and the last five. The Rams matched their season-high with 19 against Maine.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 26 games to open the 2018-19 season, the Rams have had 15 double-doubles by five different players. Mary Goulding leads the pack with seven, including four in her last six games. She has four near-identical ones - grabbing 12 rebounds each time - before posting 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Davidson. Over those seven games, Goulding is averaging 13.4 points and 12.4 rebounds. Bre Cavanaugh, who entered the season with none in her career, has five this year. Kaitlyn Downey posted 11 points and 11 rebounds against Penn State for her first career double-double, Kendell Heremaia did the same with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Washington, and Megan Jonassen joined them with 11 points and 10 boards at La Salle for her first career double-double in her first career start. G'mrice Davis graduated in May tied for a NCAA-wide lead with 57 career double-doubles and had 27 last year alone.
 
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 set the all-time career minutes played record at Davidson on Wednesday after the completion of the first quarter, passing current Director of Operations Abigail Corning and Director of Player Development Samantha Clark, with her 4,147th minute. She finished the game with 4,186 career minutes. A starter midway through her freshman year, Holden has also passed Annie Zopf ('09), Denise Hammersley ('95), Kristina Bell ('11), Suzanne Maguire ('97), Monica Mack ('05), Becky Peters ('12), and former teammate Hannah Missry ('17) this season.
 
Holden currently leads all of Division I with 38.68 minutes played per game and 1,006 total minutes. Bre Cavanaugh, who finished her freshman season with the second-most minutes played in a single campaign (1,304), is fifth and second, respectively, with 38.0 minutes per game and 987 total.
 
Holden Ascending the All-Time Ranks
Having played the most minutes in Fordham history, it's no surprise to see Lauren Holden's name high up 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), Abigail Corning ('14), and Suzanne Maguire ('97), into fourth with 201 career triples. Her 84.7% career rate from the free-throw line sits fifth all-time, as well. She became the 21st member of the program's 1,000-point club, currently at 1,082, ranked 18th all-time, at Dayton, and is eighth with 124 appearances and fifth with 109 starts.
 
G'mrice Thriving in Greece
Former Fordham standout forward G'mrice Davis, the program's second 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 13 contests, is leading the league in rebounding (14.8 per game), is second in scoring (19.5), and is chipping in 2.1 steals, as well, helping Kalyvion to a 7-6 record and sixth-place spot in the league table. The top four teams in the league advance to the playoffs. Eurobasket.com has already named G'mrice the league's Player of the Week four times, all coming in the last seven weeks.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 60 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 became the third-fastest player to reach 1,000 career points in a Fordham uniform, the 22nd Ram to ever reach the milestone, and has already entered the top-10 for career three-pointers, now solo 10th with 119. Cavanaugh is averaging 16.7 career points per game on 332 field goals, 119 three-pointers, and 221 free throws, with an average of 5.6 rebounds per game, a 120-98 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 66 steals across 38.2 minutes. Cavanaugh has only been held to single-digit scoring six times in her career and has 22 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. Her 1,306 minutes last year were second-most in a single campaign. 
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 96-30 (76.2%) record at home across 126 contests. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rams are 39-9 in the Bronx, including a 17-5 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 66-64 (50.8%) on the road or on neutral ground during her tenure.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
Fordham is 41-4 over its last two-plus seasons when scoring 60 points or more, including a 16-3 mark a year ago and 10-1 record 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 earlier this year 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 64-6 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 of this year snapped a streak of 16 straight wins but the Rams have had three since.
 
Getting Defensive
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 eight seasonsseasons and have finished within the top-20 in half of them. Fordham is currently 16th nationally with 55.4 points allowed per game.
 
Cavanaugh Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for a Third Time
The redshirt sophomore picked up her third A-10 Player of the Week award three weeks ago after averaging 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.0 steals across 38.5 minutes of two wins last week, against Richmond and at Saint Louis. She was also named the National Jesuit Women's Player of the Week for the first time, as well. She was a four-time Rookie of the Week winner last year. Click here to read more.
 
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 six three-pointers away from 125
- Bre Cavanaugh is 19 free throws away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is 30 assists away from 150
- Mary Goulding is 13 field goals away from 250
- Mary Goulding is eight three-pointers away from 50
- Mary Goulding is 48 rebounds away from 500
- Kendell Heremaia is three assists away from 100
- Kendell Heremaia is 12 steals away from 50
- Lauren Holden is 18 points away from 1,100
- Lauren Holden is 32 assists away from 300
- Lauren Holden is one appearance away from 125
- Zara Jillings is six assists away from 100
 
Up Next
Fordham return home for its final two home contests of the regular season, starting with Massachusetts on Sunday, February 24^th. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. with a three-player Senior Day ceremony prior to tip.