Women's Basketball Hosts Davidson, Albany on Back-to-Back Days

Watch vs. Davidson | Watch vs. Albany (to come) | Listen | Live Stats
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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Rams (2-1), fresh off a 14-point win on Friday night, have a quick turnaround for Monday's noon meeting with Davidson (3-3) to begin Atlantic 10 play. Fordham also added Albany (2-2) on Tuesday at 1 p.m. to make up for three lost nonconference contests earlier this season.
 
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 check out the influential 1970's All-Decade Team!
 
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 or supporting us on the road for the foreseeable future, Fordham Athletics is proud to announce virtual gameday experiences for select contests, home and away! Read all about it and register HERE.
 
Friday night's game against Hofstra was a great success with lots of our Ramily joining the pregame zoom hosted by WFUV! Spread the word and register for our next one!
 
Last Time Out
Sophomore Anna DeWolfe exploded for a career-high 34 points on Friday against Hofstra, while the entire offense shot 53.2%, the fifth-highest mark in the past five seasons. Read all about it HERE.
 
Series History vs. Davidson
This will be the 14th meeting between the two schools, all since 2015 when the Wildcats joined the Atlantic 10. Fordham is 6-1 inside the Rose Hill Gym, including the most recent meeting - a slim 47-46 victory on February 13 of this year. Five weeks earlier, the Wildcats downed the Rams, 74-62, in North Carolina. Anna DeWolfe averaged 12.5 points over those two games, while Kendell Heremaia exploded for a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double with three steals and a block in the loss, but just five points in the win. Kaitlyn Downey and Sarah Karpell also enjoyed solid efforts in the contests with the two leading the team in assists in both.
 
Series History vs. Albany
This will be the seventh all-time meeting since 2009, a 76-56 win at home for the Rams. Under Coach Gaitley, the series is split 2-2. Each of the last two meetings have gone past regulation, first an 89-82 double-overtime win at home in 2016 and then a 59-52 overtime loss on the road almost a year later. The lone Albany win in the Bronx came in November, 2011, 59-42.
 
Downey Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Though DeWolfe also had a fair shout, it was Downey who claimed her first-ever Atlantic 10 award, deservedly so after a 16-point, 20-rebound double-double at Stony Brook. The 20 boards were tied for the seventh-most in a road or neutral contest and joint-11th in any game, while she became just the seventh Ram to ever reach 20 rebounds in a game.
 
Hungry Like DeWolfe
Sophomore captain Anna DeWolfe is seventh in all of Division I in scoring with 26.7 points per game through three contests. Following a stellar season debut with 25 points at Stony Brook, the Cumberland, Maine native scored 23 at Quinnipiac and exploded for 34 points against Hofstra on Friday. She continues to impress for the Rams ever since debuting by nearly triple-doubling against #16 Notre Dame in last year's season opener (10 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) in front of a record sold out Rose Hill Gym.
 
DeWolfe is shooting 53.8% from the field, a top-100 figure in the country, and 56.3% from behind the arc. She is also joint-leader on the team with three steals and second with nine assists. A three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week honoree and a member of the All-Rookie team, she was named to the preseason Third Team this Fall by the league's coaches. DeWolfe led all freshmen nationally with 1,152 minutes played, ranked 13th overall, and is once again in the upper echelon among her peers this year with 37.0 minutes per contest.
 
Chairwoman of the Boards
Downey became the seventh Ram to ever reach 20 rebounds in a single contest at Stony Brook and finds herself tops in the entire nation with 11.3 defensive rebounds per game and fourth overall with 13.3 rebounds per contest overall. The Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. native upped her rebounding average between her freshman and sophomore years from 3.7 to 5.7. A starter in 63 of a possibly 69 games, never missing a contest, Downey is now one rebound away from 350 for her career.
 
Nationally Speaking 
It's never too early to take a look at where Fordham and its players stand on the national landscape. Per-game statistics take on even more significance this year during the ongoing pandemic. That said, the Rams are currently 14th nationally in three-point percentage (42.4%) and 27th in long-range makes per contest (9.0), ranked second and first in the A-10, respectivey. The Rams defense, holding opponents to 59.3 points per game, rank 64th and second in the league, and are committing just 9.3 fouls per contest, ranked 85th overall. The team's +9.3 rebounding margin, as well, ranks 44th.
 
At the individual level, DeWolfe's 26.7 points per game ranks 7th in the country. Her 56.2% three-point average sits 25th, while her 53.8% overall rate is 94th. Downey is tops in the nation with 11.3 defensive rebounds per game and fourth with 13.3 overall per contest. .
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold a 114-31 (78.6%) record at home across 145 contests. Over the last four-plus seasons, the Rams are 58-11 in the Rose Hill Gym, including a 27-5 mark in conference play and three straight Holiday Classic crowns. After starting last year with two losses at home, Fordham rattled off 14 straight wins, a run they still carry currently.
 
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 last 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.).
 
Up Next
Fordham is off for the holidays but return to Atlantic 10 action on New Years Day against George Mason inside the Rose Hill Gym with a 1 p.m. tip.