Women's Basketball Hosts Dayton Wednesday Night

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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (20-8, 11-3 A-10) will take its seven-game winning streak into Wednesday night's crucial Atlantic 10 match-up with Dayton (14-11, 9-5 A-10), the team's regular season home finale. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
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Wednesday, February 27^th – FREE Chipotle for Fordham students with valid ID.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham coasted to a 76-64 win over Massachusetts on Sunday, never trailing and leading by as much as 20 points in the third quarter. The Rams honored 10 senior members of the program, including three players, in a pregame ceremony in front of many family and friends, and the seniors played a big role in the win. Fordham shot a blistering 54.5% (6-of-11) from behind the arc in the first quarter alone to take a sizeable 22-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Zara Jillings' layup at the two-minute mark was the Rams' first two-point basket after the hosts started the game with four straight threes for a 12-0 advantage. By the end of the first quarter, Bre Cavanaugh and Kaitlyn Downey had combined for 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 5-of-8 from deep. The seniors dominated the second quarter, combining to score 16 points and Fordham led, 46-28, at the half, tying the season-high for first-half points, set in the season opener against Wagner. Although the Minutewomen went on a 14-7 run in the third, the Rams' lead never dipped into single digits.
 
Cavanaugh matched her season-high of 27 points, hitting 10-of-19 shots, 5-of-10 from behind the arc, to go with six boards, three assists, and a steal. Downey and Goulding each posted 15 points, the latter notching a game-high six assists, and Lauren Holden tallied nine points and five assists. The Rams hit a season-high 12 threes, shot 50.0% overall, and committed just 10 turovers, while holding UMass to just 20 rebounds.
 
Series History vs. Dayton
The Flyers hold a 24-6 all-time advantage since 1996, the Rams' first year in the A-10. Fordham has only won once in the Bronx, 66-52, in 2017. Four of the team's six wins have come during conference tournaments. Fordham fell, 72-50, in Dayton earlier this season, although Lauren Holden scored her 1,000th point with a stepback three in the first quarter. The Rams shot just 28.6% in the second half as the hosts coasted to vicotry by shooting 54.4% overall in the half. 
 
Cavanaugh Named Atlantic 10 and MBWA and Player of the Week
The redshirt sophomore earned her fourth weekly accolade from the league this week by scoring 27 points, matching her season-high for a third time, on 10-of-19 shooting, 5-of-10 from deep, with six rebounds, three assists, and a steal over 38 minutes against Massachusetts on Sunday. Cavanaugh was also named the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Player of the Week, which named her Rookie of the Year last Spring.
 
Swiper No Swiping
Fordham is tied for fourth 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 11 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 fourth (1.8), Mary Goulding, Bre Cavanaugh, and Lauren Holden are all tied for 14th (1.4), and Kaitlyn Downey is tied for 20th (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 377-316 ratio, ranked 31st in the country and tops in the A-10 (1.19).
 
Top-20 Defense
Once again, Stephanie Gaitley's Rams are within the top-20 in scoring defense in the country, currently situated at 12th with 55.3 points allowed per game. The Rams' defense has ramped things up in conference action, as well, holding rivals to just 50.7 per game. Out of 14 games so far, 11 opponents have been held under 55 points and seven under 50.
 
Conference Only
The Rams are 11-3 in Atlantic 10 action thus far, with a 6-1 record on the road, and are riding a league-best seven-game winning streak. The team is playing its typically stout Gaitley-inspired defense, holding opponents to just 50.7 points per game, second in the league, with just three opponents scoring over 55 points and seven held under 50. Bre Cavanaugh leads the charge offensively with 14.8 points per game, while Mary Goulding is averaging close to a double-double (12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds) with a team-high 46 assists. She also has a team-best 22 steals and is shooting 34.7% from deep. Lauren Holden is chipping in 10.4 points on 36.8% shooting from long range with 43 assists, and Kendell Heremaia has averages of 6.9 points and 6.4 rebounds, with 33 assists and 17 steals. Kaitlyn Downey has also stepped up with 7.4 points on 43.0% overall shooting plus a team-high five blocks..
 
Seven in Seven
The Rams have rattled off five straight wins with an average margin of 61.0-50.6 and just one opponent scoring over 54 points. Mary Goulding is averaging a near-double-double of 13.9 points (on 48.7% shooting) and 9.4 rebounds (29-of-66 on the offensive end) with a team-high 28 assists and 15 steals over 38.9 minutes per game. Bre Cavanaugh (14.7) and Lauren Holden (10.9) are both in double figures, as well. Cavanaugh is shooting just 34.0% over this stretch and Holden at 33.8% but all other players with at least 13 minutes per game are shooting 39% or better. Freshmen Kaitlyn Downey has stepped up with 50.0% overall shooting and 40.0% from deep, while Goulding is converting on 48.7% of her attempts. Five Rams have attempted at least 25 three-point attempts and all are shooting at least 33.0% from long range. The team is averaging 6.6 steals during this run, as well, and limiting opponents to just 28.1 rebounds per game.
 
20 Wins
The Rams secured their third straight 20-win season under Coach Gaitley with Sunday's 76-64 win over Massachusetts. Before Gaitley arrived in the Bronx, Fordham had had just five 20-win seasons in its history, from 1977-80 and in 1991-92 and 1993-94. Under Gaitley, the Rams have six 20-win seasons in eight years.
 
#ShareTheRock
The Rams have a 377/316 assist/turnover ratio through 28 games, ranked 31st in the country (1.19), and no one player stands above the rest in terms of spreading the wealth on offense. Four different players have between 66 and 81 dimes on the year: Mary Goulding leads the squad with 81, Lauren Holden and Kendell Heremaia are close behind with 74 and 72, respectively, while Bre Cavanaugh havs 66. 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 (72/74).
 
Bombs Away!
The 2018-19 Rams have already recorded the third-most three-pointers in program history, with 210. Five different Rams have at least 27 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 23rd in the country in three-point attempts (686), 46th in makes (210), and 61st in makes per game (7.5), with all three tops in the A-10. 
 
116th in RPI
The Rams are 116th overall in the RPI standings as of February 26th and second in the A-10, behind VCU (101).
 
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 11.5 and 7.9 points per game, are first and third in assists, with 81 and 72, respectively, and first and third in rebounding, with 8.1 and 5.4, respectively, while Jillings chips in 3.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 43 assists off the bench. The Kiwis have combined to average 23.0 points per game, or 38.3% of the team's scoring, 16.3 rebounds (46.4% of the team's rebounding), and 196 assists, or 52.0% of the team's total of 377. 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 (334-of-984 – 33.9%). Six different Rams have at least 33 offensive boards: Mary Goulding leads the way with 91-of-219 offensive boards (41.6%), Megan Jonassen has an even 50-50 split off the bench, Bre Cavanaugh and Kaitlyn Downey each have 39, Kendell Heremaia has 35, and Zara Jillings has 33. 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 seven. The Rams matched their season-high with 19 against Maine.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 28 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 4,265 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 1,084 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 1,065 total, while Mary Goulding ranks 68th (35.6) and 41st (961), 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 205 career triples. Her 85.2% career rate from the free-throw line sits fourth all-time, as well. She became the 21st member of the program's 1,000-point club, currently at 1,102, ranked 18th all-time, at Dayton, and is seventh with 126 appearances and joint-fourth with 111 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 62 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 125. Cavanaugh is averaging 16.8 career points per game on 344 field goals, 125 three-pointers, and 231 free throws, with an average of 5.5 rebounds per game, a 126-99 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 68 steals across 38.2 minutes. Cavanaugh has only been held to single-digit scoring six times in her career and has 23 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 97-30 (76.4%) record at home across 127 contests. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rams are 40-9 in the Bronx, including a 18-5 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 42-4 over its last two-plus seasons when scoring 60 points or more, including a 16-3 mark a year ago and 11-1 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 13th nationally with 55.3 points allowed per game.
 
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 56 points away from 1,100
- Bre Cavanaugh is six field goals away from 350
- Bre Cavanaugh is 25 three-pointers away from 125
- Bre Cavanaugh is 19 free throws away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is 24 assists away from 150
- Mary Goulding is one field goal away from 250
- Mary Goulding is five three-pointers away from 50
- Mary Goulding is 33 rebounds away from 500
- Mary Goulding is 34 assists away from 200
- Kendell Heremaia is 16 starts away from 50
- Kendell Heremaia is 12 steals away from 50
- Kendell Heremaia is 28 rebounds away from 250
- Lauren Holden is 25 assists away from 300
- Lauren Holden is 20 threes away from 225
- Lauren Holden is 32 field goals away from 400
- Lauren Holden is four appearances away from 130
- Lauren Holden is four starts away from 115
- Zara Jillings is five assists away from 100
 
Up Next
The Rams wrap up the regular season this Saturday at Saint Joseph's. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.