Women's Basketball Returns to Rose Hill to Host St. Bonaventure Friday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Rams (7-3, 4-2) are back in the Bronx to host St. Bonaventure (2-6, 1-4) on Friday afternoon. Tip-off on ESPN+ and WFUV is set for 2 p.m.
 
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, plus check out the influential 1970's All-Decade Team and high-scoring 1980'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.
 
We have had a big turnout for our first two Virtual Gamedays (Hofstra and George Washington) and TOMORROW is our third! Make sure to register at the link above to participate!
 
Last Time Out
Fordham shook off a five-point first quarter with 67 over the final three periods at Saint Louis, winning, 72-63, behind a combined 64 points from Anna DeWolfe, Kaitlyn Downey, and Kendell Heremaia. Read all about it HERE.
 
Series History vs. St. Bonaventure
The Rams hold an 18-22 all-time record against the Bonnies, all since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1996. Fordham took that initial meeting, 86-65, on the road, but were only able to win seven times over the next 27 contests. Starting with a 62-50 win at home in 2013, the Rams have won 10 of the last 12 games, including six straight and are now 11-10 against the Bonnies in the Rose Hill Gym. The two schools met in the conference opener a year ago, in the Bronx, and the Rams used a 27-8 third quarter to sprint past the Bonnies by an eventual 79-53 score. Kendell Heremaia put up 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in just 29 minutes, while Kaitlyn Downey and Anna DeWolfe combined for 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
 
Downey Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Again
Downey picked up the second weekly honor of her career on Monday after posting a massive 24-point, 13-rebound double-double with five assists and a steal over 35 minutes at Saint Louis on Sunday. Earlier in the year, the junior captain was the season's first award winner 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 14th in all of Division I in scoring with 22.8 points per game, one of two underclassmen inside the top-20. The Cumberland, Maine native has recorded games of 20 or more points eight times, including a career-high 34 points against Hofstra, crossing the 600-point threshold for her career at UMass. She continues to impress for the Rams ever since her collegiate debut - 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 44.6% from the floor and 40.3% from deep and leads the team with 33 assists and 14 steals. 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 above that this year, 9th among her peers this year with 38.4 minutes per contest.
 
DeWolfe Named MBWA Player of the Week
Anna DeWolfe was named the year's first Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week last Tuesday, January 12th, after scoring 27 and 21 points at Rhode Island and Massachusetts, respectively, the weekend before. It's the first MBWA honor of her career.
 
Chairwomen of the Boards
Fordham has been beastly on the boards to begin the year, averaging 40.2 per contest and with the 22nd-highest rebounding margin in the country (10.5), holding opponents just 29.7 boards. The Rams have grabbed 124-of-402 rebounds on the offensive glass, or 30.9%, and have five players with at least 11 offensive boards, led by junior Megan Jonassen's 39 (out of 73) and junior Kaitlyn Downey (19). They are joined by Katie McLoughlin (16), Matilda Flood (12), and Sarah Karpell (11). Downey is 12th in the country with 11.4 rebounds per game and third overall with 9.5 defensive boards per game. For their careers, Jonassen (152-of-275) and McLoughlin (30-of-52) have more offensive rebounds than defensive.
 
Lucky Number Seven
Senior Kendell Heremaia has racked up 858 points, 568 rebounds, 224 assists, and 98 steals during her Fordham career to-date. That puts her in some illustrious company among Rams that have reached the 800-point, 500-rebound, 200-assist, 100-steal plateaus, which Heremaia will cross soon with her 100th steal. Only six others have done it, most recently Samantha Clark ('16), but also featuring Becky Peters ('12) and Abigail Corning ('14) that have played under Coach Gaitley. Among that group, Heremaia has the fewest points but the fifth-most rebound and fourth-most assists already.
 
Kene From Distance
Heremaia is also climbing up the all-time three-point shooting categories at Fordham, entering the all-time top-10 for makes and percentage. Against UMass, the New Zealand international became the 10th Ram to reach 150 career three-pointers, while also jumping into a tie for 10th with a 35.0% rate from behind the arc. She could potentially join the top-10 for career rebounds, too, as she is 135 away from passing Abigail Corning.
 
Nationally Speaking (as of 1/21)
Per-game statistics take on even more significance this year during the ongoing pandemic. That said, the Rams are 22nd in the country in rebounding margin (+10.5), 25th in scoring defense (56.0), 12th in three-point percentage (39.0%), 20th in threes per game (9.0), and 42nd with 90 long-range makes. They are also 44th with just 15.2 fouls committed per game.
 
At the individual level, DeWolfe's 22.8 points per game ranks 14th in the country. She is 31st in attempts (186), 34th in makes (83), and 9th in minutes played (38.4). Downey is third in the nation with 9.5 defensive rebounds per game and 12th with 11.4 overall per contest. Megan Jonassen is 28th overall and tops in the A-10 with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game, as well.
 
Deeper Dive Into Games Won
In seven wins so far this year, the Rams are outscoring opponents 65.1-51.1, a whopping 14.0-point disparity. Fordham is shooting 43.4% from the floor as a group and 41.5% from behind the arc, while holding opponents to marks of 34.6% and 30.8%, respectively. On the glass, Fordham has a 39.0-28.4 advantage. Anna DeWolfe leads the way with 24.6 points on 49.6% shooting overall and 45.5% from downtown, with a team-high 28 assists and 11 steals. Kendell Heremaia is next up with 13.0 points and 8.1 rebounds, plus 23 assists, while shooting 41.8% overall and 42.6 from deep. Downey is averaging 12.3 rebounds per contest to go with 10.1 points, while Megan Jonassen is chipping in 5.7 points and 5.6 rebounds.
 
DeWolfe Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week
Anna DeWolfe was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week during halftime of the Davidson game, 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.
 
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
The Rams play Duquesne at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.