Women's Basketball Hosts George Mason on Sunday

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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (16-8, 7-3 A-10) is riding a three-game winning streak into Sunday afternoon's Atlantic 10 match-up with George Mason (12-10, 4-5 A-10), the last of a three-game homestand for the Rams. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
 
National Women and Girls in Sports Day
The Fordham women's basketball team, and the rest of the athletics department, is celebrating National Women and Girls in Sports Day this Sunday. It is also the team's PINK day, presented by New York Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital, and Alumni Day:
 
February 10^th – National Women and Girls in Sports Day / PINK Day / Alumni Day

• Pregame Cheer Clinic run by the Fordham cheerleader team (sign up here) at noon
• Meet & Greet with various Fordham women's team and student-athletes pregame
• Giveaways for pink pom-poms and pink water bottles

 
Fans are strongly encouraged to wear PINK in support of women's health! See you at the Rose Hill Gym!
 
Last Time Out
Fordham completed the season sweep over Saint Louis with a 54-51 win on Wednesday night inside the Rose Hill Gym. The Rams were able to slow the Billikens down after the visitors scored 18 points in the opening quarter, outscoring them, 30-19, over the middle periods and carrying a double-digit lead into the final frame. Saint Louis regrouped, however, out of the final media timeout, scoring seven unanswered points over a minute to get within three, 52-49. Mary Goulding missed both of her free throws after getting fouled, while Ciaja Harbison converted on both of hers on the next possession, making it a one-point game with 22 seconds to play. Bre Cavanaugh hit one of her free throws and Saint Louis had two looks in the paint to tie the game but missed both chances as Fordham held on for the victory.
 
Freshman Kaitlyn Downey, playing in front of her alma mater Maria Regina, scored a season-high 16 points on a career-high six field goals, including four from downtown. Goulding finished with her third double-double in the last four games, and her sixth on the year, with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Rams slightly outshot and outrebounded the Billikens, but held the visitors to just 2-of-15 shooting from long range. Both teams committed 14 turnovers, with the hosts holding an 11-7 advantage on assists.
 
Series History vs. George Mason
The Rams hold a 6-3 all-time series advantage over the Patriots since 2001. George Mason took three of the first four contests over the first six years of the rivalry but, since the Patriots joined the Atlantic 10 for the 2013-14 season, Fordham has won all five of its meetings. In the Bronx, the Rams are 3-1 all-time against George Mason, but haven't played on Rose Hill since 2016. Last year, Fordham won on the road, 67-62. Bre Cavanaugh scored 14 points in that one with Lauren Holden chipping in eight points and Mary Goulding posting nine points, six boards, and four assists.
 
Swiper No Swiping
Fordham is tied for fifth 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 nine 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 fifth (1.7), Bre Cavanaugh and Mary Goulding are tied for 14th (1.4), and Kaitlyn Downey and Lauren Holden are tied for 19th (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 315-270 ratio, ranked 38th in the country (1.16).
 
Top-25 Defense
Once again, Stephanie Gaitley's Rams are within the top-25 in scoring defense in the country, currently situated at 22nd with 56.0 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 10 games so far, eight opponents have been held under 55 points and five under 50.
 
Conference Only
The Rams are 7-3 in Atlantic 10 action thus far, with a 4-1 record on the road. The team is playing its typically stout Gaitley-inspired defense, holding opponents to just 50.7 points per game through 10 games, second in the league, with just two opponents scoring over 55 points. Bre Cavanaugh leads the charge offensively with 13.0 points per game, while Mary Goulding is averaging close to a double-double (11.6 points, 9.3 rebounds) with a team-high 31 assists. She also has 12 steals and is shooting 39.3% from deep. Lauren Holden is chipping in 10.6 points on 35.8% shooting from long range and Kendell Heremaia has averages of 7.1 points and 6.5 rebounds, with 22 assists and a team-high 14 steals.
 
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 program's leader in wins): vs. Massachusetts, 74-43, on 2/11/17
 
#ShareTheRock
The Rams have a 315/270 assist/turnover ratio through 24 games thus far this season, ranked 38th 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 55 and 64 dimes on the year: Mary Goulding leads the squad with 64, Kendell Heremaia is close behind with 61, while Lauren Holden and Bre Cavanaugh have 55 each. Zara Jillings has 37, as well, off the bench. All six players averaging over 19 minutes have a positive assist/turnover ratio.
 
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 last Thursday 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.
 
Goulding and Heremaia are second and fourth on the team in scoring, respectively, with 11.0 and 8.1 points per game, are first and second in assists, with 66 and 61, respectively, and  first and third in rebounding, with 8.1 and 5.3, respectively, while Jillings chips in 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 40 assists off the bench. The Kiwis have combined to average 22.8 points per game, or 38.3% of the team's scoring, 16.2 rebounds (45.6% of the team's rebounding), and 167 assists, or 53.0% of the team's total of 315. 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 thus far in 2018-19, hauling in just over that mark (296-of-853 – 34.7%). Six different Rams have at least 29 offensive boards: Mary Goulding leads the way with 78-of-186 offensive boards (41.9%), Megan Jonassen has an even 45-45 split, Bre Cavanaugh has 37,  Kaitlyn Downey has 33, Zara Jillings has 30, and Kendell Heremaia has 29. Fordham has had between 12 and 19 offensive rebounds in 15 contests this year, including the first six of the year and the last four. The Rams matched their season-high with 19 against Maine.
 
Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub
Through 24 games to open the 2018-19 season, the Rams have had 14 double-doubles by five different players. Mary Goulding leads the pack with six, including three in her last four 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 six games, Goulding is averaging 13.8 points and 12.7 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.
 
Holden Ascending the All-Time Ranks
Having played the third-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) and current Director of Ops Abigail Corning ('14), with 196 career long-range makes. Next is Suzanne Maguire, who has 200. 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 1,063, 18th all-time, at Dayton and is on pace to break the record for career minutes played and enter the top-five for games played and stated, currently at 122 and 107, respectively. She became just the third player to ever reach the 4,000-minute plateau, currently at 4,107 minutes played, 117 and 119 behind Corning and Samantha Clark.
 
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 12 contests, is leading the league in rebounding (15.4 per game), is second in scoring (19.5), and is chipping in 2.2 steals, as well, helping Kalyvion to a 7-5 record and fourth-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 six weeks.
 
Quite the Start
Bre Cavanaugh has started all 58 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 38.2 minutes per game so far in her career. She recently moved into the all-time top-10 for career three-pointers, now solo 10th with 112, and is close already in free throws. She is averaging 16.7 career points per game with 318 field goals, 112 three-pointers, and 219 free throws, with an average of 5.6 rebounds per game, a 117-94 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 64 steals. She is on pace to join the 1,000-point club over the next few weeks, currently at 967 career points. Cavanaugh has only been held to single-digit scoring six times in her career and has 21 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.
 
Heremaia Raising the Bar
Sophomore Kendell Heremaia has been terrific for the Rams this year, starting all but one contest, after making seven starts in 33 appearances last year, is second on the team with 61 assists, and is averaging 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds 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, and set a new career-high with 16 rebounds at Saint Louis. Heremaia has hit at least one three-pointer in all but three games and has shot 50% or better in six contests. The sophomore was shooting 47.7% from the field and 43.2% from behind the arc over her first 10 contests of the year. She has played 25 or more minutes in 18 contests this 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). A starter midway through her freshman year, Holden became the third Ram to surpass 4,000 career minutes, now up to 4,107 for her career, which ranks third all-time, recently passing Annie Zopf ('09) against Charlotte, Denise Hammersley ('95) against Ball State, Kristina Bell ('11) against Columbia, Suzanne Maguire ('97) against Middle Tennessee State, both Monica Mack ('05) and Becky Peters ('12) at George Washington, and former teammate Hannah Missry ('17).
 
Holden currently leads all of Division I with 38.61 minutes played per game and is second overall with 927 total minutes on the year. Bre Cavanaugh, who finished her freshman season with the second-most minutes played in a single campaign (1,304) is seventh and third, respectively, with 37.8 minutes per game and 907 total.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold an 95-30 (76.0%) record at home across 125 contests. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Rams are 38-9 in the Bronx, including a 16-5 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 65-64 (50.4%) 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 63-6 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. This year, the Rams have wins against Columbia, Iona, Middle Tennesseee State, George Washington, Richmond, Rhode Island, and Duquesne in such instances.
 
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 33 points away from 1,000
- Bre Cavanaugh is 13 three-pointers away from 125
- Bre Cavanaugh is 31 free throws away from 250
- Bre Cavanaugh is 33 assists away from 150
- Mary Goulding is 11 three-pointers away from 50
- Mary Goulding is 16 rebounds away from 450
- Kendell Heremaia is nine assists away from 100
- Kendell Heremaia is three rebounds away from 200
- Kendell Heremaia is 17 steals away from 50
- Lauren Holden is 37 points away from 1,100
- Lauren Holden is 41 assists away from 300
- Lauren Holden is four three-pointers away from 200
- Lauren Holden is three appearances away from 125
- Zara Jillings is eight assists away from 100
- Zara Jillings is two rebounds away from 150
 
Up Next
Fordham heads back to the road with a trip to Davidson on Wednesday, February 13, at 7 p.m., looking to avenge a loss to the Wildcats on January 27th.