Women's Basketball Hosts Massachusetts on Senior Day Sunday

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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (19-8, 10-3 A-10) rides a six-game winning streak into Sunday's penultimate home regular season contest against Massachusetts (13-14, 5-8 A-10). Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. This year's Senior Day ceremony will begin promptly at 1:45 p.m. as seniors Mary Goulding and Lauren Holden, graduate student Alexa Giuliano, plus two team managers and five scout squad players will be honored before the contest.
 
Upcoming Promotions
Sunday, February 24^th – There will be a raffle for TWO pairs of Senior Ball Tickets ($300 value). Students must be a senior to be eligible.
 
Wednesday, February 27^th – FREE Chipotle for Fordham students with valid ID.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham saw a first-half lead slip away at St. Bonaventure and a brief deficit to begin the second half, but rebounded with a 10-2 run to retake the lead for good. The Bonnies kept things close and continued to chip away at the lead, getting within two, 41-39, with 4:37 to play, but Fordham's defense clamped down on the hosts and held them without a field goal until an Asianae Johnson jumper with 10 seconds left. By that point, the Rams had already built a double-digit lead back up.
 
Mary Goulding led the way with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals over 36 minutes. Cavanaugh finished with 13 points, three boards, and three dimes, plus a steal, and Holden chipped in 11 points, four boards, and two assists across all 40 minutes. Heremaia scored eight points with six boards and Downey notched five points, seven rebounds, and a season-high three assists.
 
Series History vs. Massachusetts
The Minutewomen hold a slim 21-19 advantage all-time since 1980. Fordham took that first contest, 81-63, before UMass enjoyed the vast majority of success over the next two decades. The Rams have turned the tide in the rivalry, winning the last 10 meetings, however, since a 61-52 win in 2011 in the Bronx. Fordham is 13-10 in the Bronx, including the last five. Stephanie Gaitley became the program's winningest head coach with a 74-43 win in the Bronx two years ago.
 
In last year's meeting, Bre Cavanaugh put up 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals over 40 minutes. Lauren Holden added 12 points and scored 17 points as a sophomore with a career-high five three-pointers. In two games as a freshman, including in the quarterfinals of the 2016 A-10 Championship, Holden averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.0 points.
 
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 was rewarded last 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.
 
Swiper No Swiping
Fordham is tied for third in the country in limiting turnovers, with just 11.4 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, Bre Cavanaugh, and Lauren Holden are all tied for 13th (1.4), and Kaitlyn Downey is tied for 19th (1.3). Five of the six Rams who are averaging 20 or more minutes have a positive assist/turnover ratio and the team as a whole has a 356-306 ratio, ranked 37th in the country and tops in the A-10 (1.16).
 
Top-20 Defense
Once again, Stephanie Gaitley's Rams are within the top-20 in scoring defense in the country, currently situated at 11th with 55.0 points allowed per game. The Rams' defense has ramped things up in conference action, as well, holding rivals to just 49.7 per game. Out of 13 games so far, 11 opponents have been held under 55 points and seven under 50.
 
Senior Day
Sunday is Senior Day for the Fordham women's basketball team and seniors Mary Goulding and Lauren Holden, plus graduate student Alexa Giuliano, will be honored in a pregame ceremony. Giuliano arrived from Columbia as a transfer this offseason and appeared in 14 games, averaging 0.6 points over 3.9 minutes. She scored three points against Penn State and at Pittsburgh and notched two steals at Northeastern in her debut. Of her nine rebounds, six came on the offensive end.
 
Mary Goulding is a three-year member of the Rams and a two-time team captain after transferring from Gillette College. Goulding has appeared in 83 games, making 59 starts, and has career averages of 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. A starter in all but one contest that she's been available for the last two years, her numbers have spiked as a senior, averaging 11.4 points with a team-high 8.1 rebounds. She also leads the team with 75 assists, 29 steals, and six blocks. She is a two-time A-10 Player of the Week and a former National Jesuit Player of the Week. The Rams have a 65-30 overall record and 33-12 league record during her tenure, and what should be 20-win seasons every year.
 
Lauren Holden is a four-year member and also a two-time team captain. She has started in 90 consecutive contests since her freshman season and has missed just one game in her career. She's amassed 110 starts over 125 appearances and has played more minutes than any player in school history (4,226). She's a 1,000-point scorer, is fourth all-time in threes (204), and fifth in free-throw efficiency (84.9%). She has a 79-47 record overall and a 41-20 mark in conference action.
 
Conference Only
The Rams are 10-3 in Atlantic 10 action thus far, with a 6-1 record on the road. The team is playing its typically stout Gaitley-inspired defense, holding opponents to just 49.7 points per game, second in the league, with just two opponents scoring over 55 points and seven held under 50. Bre Cavanaugh leads the charge offensively with 13.8 points per game, while Mary Goulding is averaging close to a double-double (12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds) with a team-high 40 assists. She also has 19 steals and is shooting 34.8% from deep. Lauren Holden is chipping in 10.5 points on 37.0% shooting from long range with 38 assists, and Kendell Heremaia has averages of 7.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, with 28 assists and 17 steals. Conference-only stats can be found on page 29.
 
Six in Six
The Rams have rattled off five straight wins with an average margin of 58.5-48.3 and no opponent scoring over 54 points. Mary Goulding is averaging a near-double-double of 13.7 points (on 47.6% shooting) and 9.7 rebounds (25-of-58 on the offensive end) with a team-high 22 assists and 12 steals over 38.8 minutes per game. Bre Cavanaugh (12.7) and Lauren Holden (11.2) are both in double figures, as well. Cavanaugh is shooting just 29.8% over this stretch and Holden at 33.8% but all other players with at least 14 minutes per game are shooting 40% or better. Freshmen Kaitlyn Downey has stepped up with 45.7% overall shooting and 33.3% from deep, while Goulding is converting on 47.6% of her attempts. Five Rams have attempted at least 21 three-point attempts, as well, and, excluding Cavanugh, the four others are shooting at least 33.0% from long range. The team is averaging 7.0 steals during this run, as well, and limiting opponents to just 29.5 rebounds per game.
 
#ShareTheRock
The Rams have a 356/306 assist/turnover ratio through 27 games, ranked 37th in the country (1.16), and no one player stands above the rest in terms of spreading the wealth on offense. Four different players have between 63 and 75 dimes on the year: Mary Goulding leads the squad with 75, Lauren Holden and Kendell Heremaia are close behind with  69 and 67, respectively, while Bre Cavanaugh havs 63. Zara Jillings has 43, as well, off the bench. Among the six players averaging over 19 minutes, only Heremaia doesn't have a positive assist/turnover ratio.
 
Bombs Away!
The 2018-19 Rams have already recorded the fourth-most three-pointers in program history, with 198. Five different Rams have at least 25 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 20th in the country in three-point attempts (659), 54th in makes (198), and 71st in makes per game (7.3), with all three tops in the A-10. 
 
121st in RPI
The Rams are 121st overall in the RPI standings as of February 20th and second in the A-10, behind VCU (96) 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 11.4 and 8.0 points per game, are first and third in assists, with 75 and 67, respectively, and first and third in rebounding, with 8.1 and 5.4, respectively, while Jillings chips in 3.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 43 assists off the bench. The Kiwis have combined to average 23.0 points per game, or 38.7% of the team's scoring, 16.4 rebounds (46.5% of the team's rebounding), and 185 assists, or 52.0% of the team's total of 356. 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 (327-of-953 – 34.3%). Six different Rams have at least 32 offensive boards: Mary Goulding leads the way with 87-of-211 offensive boards (41.2%), Megan Jonassen has one fewer offensive (49) than defensive (50), Bre Cavanaugh and Kaitlyn Downey each have 39, Kendell Heremaia has 35, 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 five of the last six. The Rams matched their season-high with 19 against Maine.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 27 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 last 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 is currently up to 4,226 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 38.72 minutes played per game and is second with 1,046 total minutes. Bre Cavanaugh, who finished her freshman season with the second-most minutes played in a single campaign (1,304), is sixth and fourth, respectively, with 38.0 minutes per game and 1,026 total, while Mary Goulding ranks 74th (35.5) and 38th (923), respectively.
 
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 204 career triples. Her 84.9% 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 1,093, ranked 18th all-time, at Dayton, and is joint-seventh with 125 appearances and fifth with 110 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 14 contests, is leading the league in rebounding (14.6 per game), is second in scoring (19.8), and is chipping in 2.1 steals, as well, helping Kalyvion to a 7-7 record and fifth-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.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 61 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 120. Cavanaugh is averaging 16.7 career points per game on 334 field goals, 120 three-pointers, and 229 free throws, with an average of 5.5 rebounds per game, a 123-99 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 67 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. 
 
Seven-Game Winning Streak
Prior to the team's loss to VCU, the Rams had rattled off seven straight wins since opening nonconference action with a 5-5 record. During the run, Fordham had wins at Iona, over Maine and Middle Tennessee State at the 12th Annual Holiday Classic, at George Washington, Richmond at home, and at Saint Louis to begin conference play. Here were some key stats from the team's winning streak:
                - Average margin of victory: 60.6 to 48.7 (+11.9)
                - Outshot opponents 40.9% to 38.9% overall and 33.3% to 22.3% from behind the arc
                - Outrebounded opponents 36.3 to 28.0 (+8.3), including 90-49 on the offensive glass
                - Bre Cavanaugh averaged 16.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals over 39.4 minutes
                - Mary Goulding averaged 11.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game
                - Lauren Holden averaged 10.9 points on 46.7% overall shooting and 44.1% from deep
                - Jonassen (54.5%), Goulding (50.7%), Jillings (47.6%), and Holden (46.7%), shot well
 
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 the program's leader in wins): vs. Massachusetts, 74-43, on 2/11/17
 
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 67-64 (51.2%) 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 65-6 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 four 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 seasons and have finished within the top-20 in half of them. Fordham is currently 11th nationally with 55.0 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 five three-pointers away from 125
- Bre Cavanaugh is 21 free throws away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is 27 assists away from 150
- Mary Goulding is eight field goals away from 250
- Mary Goulding is six three-pointers away from 50
- Mary Goulding is 41 rebounds away from 500
- Mary Goulding is 40 assists away from 200
- Kendell Heremaia is three assists away from 100
- Kendell Heremaia is 12 steals away from 50
- Lauren Holden is seven points away from 1,100
- Lauren Holden is 30 assists away from 300
- Zara Jillings is five assists away from 100
 
Up Next
The Rams wrap up the home portion of their regular season by hosting Dayton on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.