Bronx, N.Y. – Senior co-captain Lauren Holden has been named the Al Carino Girl's Basketball Club of South Jersey's College Player of the Year, it was announced by the organization this week. Holden leads the country in minutes played and is an vital cog in this year's Atlantic 10 Championship-winning team.
 
"This is such an amazing honor for an amazing player and person," Head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "My sister, Val, told me about her back in the eighth grade because she taught Lauren at her school. She spoke about Lauren and her family and said I'm not sure how good she is because I don't know much about basketball but she's an awesome kid. Wow, did she hit it on the head. To see Lauren finally get some well-deserved recognition really puts an exclamation point on an incredible career. I couldn't be happier!"
 
Holden, who has made 131 career appearances and 116 career starts in maroon and white, ranked fourth and third in program history, respectively, has been an integral part of the team's success during her time in the Bronx. She has missed just one game in her career, during her sophomore season, and made her first career start midway through her freshman season. Holden never left the starting lineup after her second start and has helped the Rams to a 78-38 record as a starter. She has been a main cog in an annual top-50 defense nationally, including top-15 defenses last year and this year, the latter ranking eighth in the country with just 53.9 points allowed per game, which has allowed the team to win a share of its' first ever A-10 regular season championship and second conference crown.
 
The Cape May, N.J. native, a 2,000-point scorer in high school, became the 21^st member of Fordham's 1,000-point club earlier this season at Dayton on January 20^th, and broke the program record for minutes played at Davidson on February 13^th. Holden is up to a staggering 4,453 career minutes played in a Fordham uniform, good for an average of 34.0 minutes per game over her 131 career contests.
 
Holden currently leads all of Division I with 1,272 minutes played this year after setting the school single-season record a year ago with 1,333. Holden is second nationally, as well, at 38.55 minutes played per game, just .02 behind Nicholls State's Cassidy Barrios.
 
The two-time team captain is 17^th all-time with 1,132 career points, fourth with 210 career three-pointers, and fourth with a career 85.3% conversion rate from the free-throw line. She is a career 33.6% three-point shooter and 34.5% shooter overall from the field. Her 55 threes this year, second-most on the team, has helped this year's squad break the single-season record, now up to 257 long-range makes. Her 71 threes a season ago rank joint-sixth in a single campaign, as well. She has also contributed 283 assists (to 231 turnovers), 250 rebounds, and 50 steals.
 
Gaitley, née Vanderslice, a native of Ocean City, N.J., is no stranger to the club and award, as she was named an All-South Jersey team member as a freshman in 1978, to the Al Carino High School All Star game in 1981 as a senior, and was named one of the two College Players of the Year as a freshman at Villanova in 1982. Fordham also has one other honoree – Nicole Williams earned the honor as a senior in 1992.
 
Holden and the Rams await their NCAA Tournament destination. The Selection Show will air next Monday, March 18^th, and Fordham will play on either Friday, March 22^nd or Saturday, March 23^rd.