Women's Basketball Begins New Year with George Mason on Friday Afternoon

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Rams (3-2, 0-1) return to action in the new year with their second and third Atlantic 10 games of the season, against George Mason (3-4, 0-0) on Friday, January 1, at 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and against George Washington (3-3, 0-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
 
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.
 
Our 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 the next one THIS SUNDAY against George Washington!
 
Last Time Out
The Rams rebounded from a loss to Davidson with a resounding 29-point win over Albany the following day, 71-42. Read all about it HERE.
 
Series History vs. George Mason
This will be the 12th meeting all-time between the two schools since 2001 and eighth since the Patriots entered the Atlantic 10 in 2014. Fordham holds an 8-3 record and has won all seven contests in league play, including last year's 66-54 win on the road. In that contest, the Rams never trailed and were spurred on by Bre Cavanaugh's 29 points, plus a combined 23 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, and four steals from Kaitlyn Downey and Kendell Heremaia. Mason has just one win in the Bronx - a 59-42 win in January 2007.
 
Series History vs. George Washington
The Rams are 7-20 all-time against the Colonials since entering the Atlantic 10 for the 1995-96 season. During a time when George Washington was within or very close to the AP Top-25, the Rams fell in 16 straight contests until a 59-56 victory came at home in 2011 in the season before Coach Gaitley's appointment. Since her hire, the Rams have turned the tides against their foes, winning six of 10 contests, including three straight. Last year at home, the Rams won, 53-47. That game, also on CBS Sports Network, showcased double-digit efforts from Heremaia, who led with 14 points and four steals, Downey, Cavanaugh, and DeWolfe.
 
DeWolfe Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Anna DeWolfe was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week during halftime of last Monday's contest, the first time she's won the honor in her career. She earned it by scoring a career-high 34 points against Hofstra on December 18. She is 16^th in the country with 23.0 points scored per game and is doing so at a top-200 field goal percentage (47.1% - 189th). She is also 29^th with 37.6 minutes played per contest.
 
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 16th in all of Division I in scoring with 23.0 points per game through five contests. Following a stellar season debut with 25 points at Stony Brook, the Cumberland, Maine native has recorded games of 23, 34, 14, and 21 points, crossing the 500-point threshold for her career against Albany. 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 47.1% from the floor and 39.3% from deep, leads the team with eight steals, and is second with 14 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 last year with 1,152 minutes played, ranked 13th overall, and is once again in the upper echelon among her peers this year with 37.6 minutes per contest.
 
Chairwomen of the Boards
Fordham has been beastly on the boards to begin the year, averaging 39.8 per contest and with the 13th-highest rebounding margin in the country (13.4), holding opponents just 26.4 boards. The Rams have grabbed 67-of-199 rebounds on the offensive glass, or 33.7%, and have three players with more offensive boards than defensive, led by junior Megan Jonassen's 22 (out of 37) and joined by Katie McLoughlin (11) and Sarah Karpell (9). Kaitlyn Downey is sixth in the country with 9.2 defensive rebounds per game and 13th overall with 11.0 total. Jonassen's 4.4 o-boards per game rank 19th. For their careers, Jonassen (135-of-239) and Moughlin (25-of-39) have more offensive rebounds than defensive. Fordham now has three players averaging over seven boards per game this season.
 
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 49th nationally in three-point percentage (36.6%) and 71st in long-range makes per contest (7.4). The Rams defense, holding opponents to 59.8 points per game, rank 65th and second in the league, while the team's +13.4 rebounding margin sits 13th in the country.
 
At the individual level, DeWolfe's 23.0 points per game ranks 16th in the country. Her 47.1% field goal percentage is 189th with the 103rd-most field goals (41). Downey is sixth in the nation with 9.2 defensive rebounds per game and 13th with 11.0 overall per contest. Jonassen's 4.4 offensive rebounds per game are 19th-most and tops in the A-10.
 
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold a 115-32 (78.2%) record at home across 147 contests. Over the last four-plus seasons, the Rams are 59-12 in the Rose Hill Gym, including a 27-6 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 that carried into this year before ending against the Wildcats.  
 
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 hosts George Washington in league action on Sunday in its first nationally televised game of the new season. Tip-off on CBS Sports Network and WFUV is set for 2:05 p.m.