On This Day: Stephanie Gaitley Becomes Head Coach of Fordham Women's Basketball

With the 2020 spring sports seasons cancelled by the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Fordham have decided to dig back through our archives and provide our fans with content on some of the outstanding teams and student-athletes who have graced Rose Hill over the years.
 
Bronx, N.Y. (April 1, 2011) – No, it wasn't an April Fool's trick, it really happened – nine years ago today, Stephanie Gaitley signed her first contract to become the head coach of Fordham women's basketball. The Ocean City, N.J. native has since gone on to become the program's winningest head coach and a two-time Atlantic 10 champion, among several other much-deserved honors and accolades.
 
Following a 12-18 first season, Gaitley's Rams have gone on to record seven 20-win seasons over eight years (four with at least 24 wins), culminating in Atlantic 10 championships in 2014 and 2019, plus an appearance in the final in 2013. With two titles came two NCAA Tournament appearances, the second and third in program history, and four WNIT berths (fifth if the 2019-20 season hadn't been cut short). Though she has never been named an A-10 Coach of the Year while at Fordham, she has earned the distinction three times with the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association and once by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York. She is also a three-time Iron Major award at Fordham's annual Block F dinners as the school's Coach of the Year.
 
Prior to her arrival, the Rams had more than 12 wins just once over the previous 17 years. After nine full campaigns, Gaitley has amassed a 190-106 overall record and 92-48 in league action, recording double-digit conference campaigns on seven occasions. She became the program's winningest coach in 2019 and now has 75 more wins than Kathy Mosolino (1974-80), while her .642 win percentage is second only to Mosolino. She holds a 654-376 all-time record (.635), as well, over 32 seasons, and ranks 15^th among active coaches in career wins and 31^st all-time.
 
Gaitley's footprint can be see all over the program's top-10 for scoring defense and three pointers made (not to mention wins). Though it'll be hard to ever catch the 2008-09 squad that allowed just 47.9 points per game, Gaitley's Rams hold the other nine spots on the list, led by 2012-13's 52.4 points allowed and, most recently, this year's team holding opponents to 54.9 points per contest, fifth-lowest all-time. Fordham has finished top-50 in scoring defense in each of the last eight seasons with Gaitley at the helm. An illuminating stat to show that defensive dominance is the program's 78-7 record when holding an opponent under 50 points, something that's happened in 28.7% of games under Gaitley.
 
Last year's squad set a new record for threes, with 267, while this year's team finished third with 231. Gaitley's teams make up the first seven spots on that list. Wins-wise, Kathy Mosolino's 1978-79 Rams notched a record 27 wins, but Gaitley's teams take up seven spots in the top-10, with 26 wins in 2012-13 leading the way (Gaitley refused to name one individual as the team's MVP at that year's Block F, instead naming the entire team). Gaitley's players typically commit few errors and fouls – her Rams in 2013-14 and each of the last two seasons have held an assist/turnover ratio above one, led by the two title-winning teams with 1.19 and 1.15, respectively, and 1.06 this year.
 
At the individual level, Gaitley has overseen four different players earn First Team All-Conference, four on the Second Team, and two on the Third Team, plus four All-Rookie members, and five on the All-Academic squad. The program has also seen the program's first conference Player of the Year (Bre Cavanaugh this year) and Defensive Player of the Year (G'mrice Davis in 2018). Cavanaugh and Davis have also been named WBCA All-American regional finalists in those years. Cavanaugh was also named ECAC First Team this Spring, another first for the program, while her and Mary Goulding were honorable mentions last year. Three Fordham graduates have gone on to play professionally overseas (Goulding, Davis, and Erin Rooney), with the former two currently playing in Sweden and Israel, respectively.
 
Academically, the team consistently sees many players land on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner Honor Roll. The 2017-18 squad even was named within the WBCA Top 25 Academic Honor Roll.