Women's Basketball Tips Off 2020-21 Campaign on Wednesday at Stony Brook

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Bronx, N.Y. – At long last, after more than eight months since the cancellation of all collegiate sports in early March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in which the Fordham women's basketball program had fought for yet another 20-win season and what would've been a fifth WNIT berth this past decade, the 2020-21 campaign is set to tip off at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Stony Brook. Fans can follow along with all the action via the links above.
 
50^th Anniversary
This campaign is the 50^th varsity season for the Fordham women's basketball program and Fordham Athletics will be celebrating all five decades throughout the year! See this release for more information and stay tuned for the 1970s All-Decade team on Monday!
 
Fordham WBB Virtual Gameday Experience
With the unfortunate reality that our RAMily won't be allowed to be there live in the Rose Hill Gym for the foreseeable future, Fordham Athletics is proud to announce virtual gameday experiences for nine select contests, home and away! Beginning an hour before tip-off and running through each contest, fans will have the opportunity to win prizes, gain access to exclusive content, and more! Be sure to read ALL about it and register HERE.
 
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
The Rams were predicted to finish in a tie for fourth in the annual A-10 preseason coaches poll. On the individual side, senior Kendell Heremaia was predicted to improve from last year's Third Team All-Conference selection to this year's Second Team, while sophomore captain Anna DeWolfe was viewed the same way, but from the All-Rookie team to the Third Team.
 
Class of 2025
Head coach Stephanie Gaitley announced her four-player 2021 recruiting class earlier this month, saying "we are super excited about this class… we really believe this group could leave a special mark on our program." The class is comprised of 5'10 guard Colleen McQuillen (Cresskill, N.J.), 6'2 forward Millie Prior (New South Wales, Australia), 5'9 guard Sophia Sabino (Rumson, N.J.), and 5'10 guard Lexie Tarul (Bronx, N.Y.).
 
Last Time Out
The 2019-20 Rams, fresh off winning the Atlantic 10 Championship the season prior, rallied after an 0-4 start to their campaign, including a slim five-point loss in front of a record sold out Rose Hill Gym against #16 Notre Dame in the season opener, to finish with a 21-11 record, 11-5 in conference action, falling in the semifinals to VCU in Dayton. If the season had not been abruptly cut short, Fordham would have earned a fifth WNIT berth, all coming in the past decade. Just before that, redshirt junior Bre Cavanaugh was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference, becoming the first Ram in the A-10 era to win the former award and second in program history (Jeanine Radice in the 1989 MAAC). As mentioned, Heremaia and Wolfe also earned All-Conference distinction, while outgoing junior Zara Jillings was deservedly named to the All-Academic squad.
 
Series History vs. Stony Brook
Fordham holds a 6-3 series advantage over the Seawolves since their first meeting in 1971, a 28-26 road victory for the Rams. After a pair of losses the next two seasons, Fordham rattled off five straight victories before falling, 58-46, in their most recent contest, in 2012 at home. Gaitley's Rams are 1-1 against Stony Brook since her hire.
 
End of An Era
The 'Bre Cavanaugh' era is over, in his own words, and the 'Bryson Cavanaugh' era has begun, as the former Ram star announced his intention to forego his senior eligibility after coming out publicly as transgender. For a very insightful discussion with Cavanaugh, head to this OutSports story.
 
Cavanaugh, one of the most explosive athletes the program has seen, finished his Fordham career with the fourth-most points in program history (1,784), third-highest scoring average (17.8), fourth-most free throws (402), fifth-most field goals (587), fifth-most three-pointers (208), and sixth-best free-throw percentage (84.6%). Cavanaugh never relented, beginning his career by averaging 17.0 points per contest as a freshman, averaging 19.5 points as a junior, and starting all 100 games as a Ram. Cavanaugh averaged 38.4 minutes per contest for his career, finishing each season near the top of that category at the national level. Cavanaugh never made fewer than 183 field goals, 115 free throws, and 67 threes in any of the three years, also improving on the glass by going from a 4.7 average to 6.4 as a sophomore and 6.3 as a junior. Fordham's #10 also had more assists (206) than turnovers (144) and tallied 116 total steals.
 
As a freshman, Cavanaugh was named to the All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie team and was named the Metropolitan Rookie of the Year, another first for the program, while setting nearly every freshman record, if not for Hall of Famer Anne Gregory. Cavanaugh was named A-10 First Team and Player of the Year runner-up as a sophomore but was named Player of the Year by both the MBWA and BCANY, plus ECAC Honorable Mention. In March, she became the program's first A-10 Player of the Year and the program's second-ever WBCA All-American Honorable Mention (G'mrice Davis in 2018). Cavanaugh would have returned this season as the NCAA's leading career scorer.