Bronx, N.Y. – Continuing on with our celebration of the 50
th anniversary of Fordham women's basketball is the release of the program's All-Decade Team for the 1980's. Previously, the decorated
1970's team was announced. The 1980's was all about the Rams joining and competing in their first conference – the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference, and seeking to carry over the success of the late 1970's teams.
Women's Basketball and Fordham University will be celebrating the program's 50
th anniversary all season long. To help mark this historic year and to support the program going forward, consider
making a donation today! Our goal is to reach 237 donors to celebrate the number of women who have donned the maroon & white!
Fordham was led by two Hall of Famers in this decade, including the program's other 2,000-point scorer, Jeanine Radice, and the Ram right behind her on the all-time scoring list, Sharon Nast. The duo played just one year together, in 1985-86, but each shouldered the load for their respective squads, earning many accolades along the way. Terri Vaccarino and Cecelia Wanker provided plenty of scoring and rebounding punch to assist the two, while Laura DeGennaro had a point guard's dream with these teammates throughout her career. The 1980's saw four different coaches in a time following the great success of the late 70's, but this group kept Fordham competitive throughout.
*All records and statistics are based off what information Fordham Sports Information have gathered over the years. If anyone should be able to fill in some of the blanks, please do not hesitate to reach out to our offices.
Fordham Women's Basketball 1980's All-Decade Team
Jeanine "J.J." Radice – Radice burst onto the scene by being named the 1986 MAAC Rookie of the Year and finished her playing career as the conference's Player of the Year in 1989. Along the way she earned First Team All-Conference honors in the two seasons in between. Radice was an incredible scorer, finishing her career with 2,417 points and an average of 21.8 per contest, the latter a school record, averaging 16.2 points during her freshman season, but at least 23.0 in all of the next three years. To this day, she still holds the top-two scoring seasons in program history – her sophomore and senior campaigns, though her junior year is also close behind. She was also a fantastic passer, dishing out 413 dimes, third-most in school history, while racking up 184 steals, fourth-most in program history, consistently between 44 and 47 each year. A starter for all 111 contests she was available for (she missed four games as a junior), she shot 48.3% for her career and even prove adept at the three-point shot upon its introduction to the game midway through her career, hitting 47.5% of her 80 attempts those final two years. Radice was a captain each of her final three years.
Sharon Nast – Like Radice, Nast burst onto the scene by earning the MAAC Rookie of the Year award, only she did it first – in 1983. Nast averaged 12.9 points that year as a rookie to help the team to a 13-13 record, shooting 52.2% from the field with 6.3 rebounds per game, playing in all 26 contests. She'd eventually compete in 106 career contests, missing five as a sophomore, and finished with 1,828 points, third-most in school history, with 17.2 points per contest, fourth-highest. Uber-efficient in her time at Fordham, her career 54.3% field goal percentage ranks just behind Anne Gregory's mark of 56.8%. Unsurprisingly, Nast is third all-time with both 711 field goals and 406 free throws and fifth with 792 rebounds. Though she never won the Player of the Year award, she was a First Team All-Conference selection each of her final three seasons, also earning one All-Academic award, too.
Terri Vaccarino – Vaccarino nearly averaged a double-double during her three years in a Fordham uniform, finishing her career with 15.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest, never suiting up as a junior. As a freshman, she came the closest to a double-double average, with 12.1 points and 9.4 rebounds, before taking a leap to 18.1 points on 50.0% shooting with 7.9 boards and 57 blocks. As a senior, she had the third-most efficient season in school history, shooting 59.2%, on the way to 15.5 points per contest, finishing her career with 1,241 points. Despite playing only three seasons, she still ranks 11
th in points scored, seventh in field goals (531), fourth in blocks (147), third in rebounding average (8.6), and ninth in total boards (705), and was deservedly a two-time Second Team All-Conference member, in 1983 and 1985.
Cecelia Wanker – One of a small handful of players that played with the illustrious 1979-80 squad and play at least one more season at Fordham, Wanker was an important cog of that group as a freshman, averaging 6.8 points while playing in 32 of 34 contests. With a completely different team top to bottom the following year, Wanker shouldered the scoring load, averaging over 15 points scored the following two seasons while jumping from 3.5 rebounds as a freshman to 8.0 the following year and 7.6 as a junior, which you can't fault her for having Anne Gregory as a teammate that first season. She was named to the Second Team All-Conference following her junior year despite appearing in just 19 contests. All told, she finished with 1,145 career points, currently 15
th all-time, and is 10
th all-time with 499 career field goals, playing in 102 contests over her career.
Laura DeGennaro – DeGennaro was a critical part of the early 1980s teams, never missing a single one of her 110 contests and making an impact from day one from the guard position. She arrived in the Bronx to average 11.1 points to go with 88 assists and 51 steals, averaging double-digit points once more as a junior, but was always consistent in setting her teammates up, finishing with 378 assists for her career, fifth-most all-time, plus the sixth-most steals (175) in school history.
Carol Elser (Honorable Mention) – Wanker was joined in 1981-82 by Vaccarino and Carol Elser, the latter providing 6.9 points as a freshman. She took a step forward with 9.3 points and 47 steals as a sophomore then exploded for 16.0 points, 6.5 points, 75 assists, 47 steals, and 18 blocks as a junior following Wanker's graduation and the loss of Vaccarino, forming a dynamite pairing with Nast. Though she took a step backwards as a senior, she finished her career with 1,031 points (9.6 per game) over 107 games with 514 rebounds, 201 assists, and 145 steals.
