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Bronx, N.Y. – Fresh off a thrilling 19-point road win at Seton Hall on Saturday, the Rams (2-0) turn their sights onto perennial national power, Notre Dame, for a Thursday night clash inside Purcell Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra and WFUV.
Last Time Out
Asiah Dingle continued her torrid pace to her senior campaign, posting an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double with four steals, but it was
Kendell Heremaia who took center stage on Saturday, matching her career-high of 29 points with a blistering 8-of-11 shooting from long range, tied for the second-most threes in a single game in program history, while also becoming the 23rd Ram to score 1,000 career points, doing so on, what else, a triple late in the fourth quarter. The Pirates were able to whittle a double-digit lead all the way down to two late in the contest but timely buckets and an extended run made the final score look vastly different.
Seton Hall rallied to outscore the Rams, 23-16, in the third period and got close in the fourth but Fordham, namely Heremaia, Dingle, and DeWolfe, were hot to close the game, and won the final period, 24-11. Heremana added seven boards, three steals, two assists, and a block over just 30 minutes around a slight injury, while DeWolfe again contributed a "quiet" 16 points, plus three dimes.
Dingle All The Way
It'll come as no surprise to anyone who saw Fordham's first two contests this season but senior transfer
Asiah Dingle was named the year's first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.0 steals, and 3.0 assists, while shooting 60.0% from the field and 75.0% from the line over two wins. Dingle made her Rams debut in style, scoring 34 points with six rebounds and six steals against Quinnipiac, then piled up 18 points, 13 rebounds, and four more steals at Seton Hall on Saturday.
Kene 1k
The New Zealand international struggled with her shot in the season opener, scoring just five points. Heremaia shook that off and then some on Saturday, canning her first two three-point attempts and riding that wave all the way through the game. Her 1,000th point came in the fourth quarter after hitting two consecutive triples following time off the court due to a mild injury.
Chairwomen of the Boards
Fordham was beastly on the boards last year, averaging 38.4 per contest and with the 22nd-highest rebounding margin in the country (7.6), holding opponents to just 30.8 boards. The Rams grabbed 213-of-691 rebounds on the offensive glass, or 30.8%, and had six players with at least 17 offensive boards. Downey was 35th in the country with 10.2 rebounds per game and 11th overall with 8.5 defensive boards per game, while Jonassen was 20th with 3.9 o-boards per game. Jonassen (186-of-329) has more offensive boards in her career than defensive.
It's early going in 2021-22, obviously, but through two games, Fordham is outrebounding opponents 40.0 to 30.5 with a whopping 31 offensive rebounds out of 80 (38.8%).
Millie Prior has 10 o-boards already, while
Asiah Dingle has five and
Kaitlyn Downey four.
Maranda Nyborg (3),
Sarah Karpell (3), and
Matilda Flood (1), all have more offensive rebounds than defensive.
Series History with Notre Dame
This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools since 2000 and third in the last five years. The Rams traveling to South Bend in 2016 in the second round of the preseason WNIT when the Irish were ranked #1 in the country and fell, 67-36. Most recently, Notre Dame, ranked #16/14, came to the Rose Hill Gym to kick off the 2019-20 season in front of a sold-out crowd. The Rams battled throughout and got within two in the final minute but ultimately lost, 60-55.
Gaitley's "Most Challenging" Nonconference Schedule Yet
Fordham women's basketball head coach
Stephanie Gaitley has called this year's nonconference slate her "most challenging" of any of her teams in her career. The season has begun with a win over the predicted MAAC champions, Quinnipiac, and a road win over predicted third place Big East finisher, Seton Hall, one of six programs either ranked in at least one national preseason poll or receiving votes: Seton Hall and Houston received votes in the coaches poll, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Florida Gulf Coast received votes in both, and Baylor is #7/8 to begin the year. Notre Dame and Baylor are former multi-time NCAA champions, as well. Not to mention PAC-12 contenders Arizona State, last year's America East champions, Stony Brook, and a Princeton team that, although hasn't played a game in two years, was the most recent Ivy League champions with a 26-1 overall record.
Hungry Like DeWolfe
Last year's Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year, junior captain
Anna DeWolfe became the third Ram to average over 20 points per game in program history, finishing with 20.8 for the season, which ranked 22nd in the country, one of seven underclassmen in the top-25. The Cumberland, Maine native was also 25th in the nation with 37.3 minutes played per game and 29th with 2.7 threes per game. DeWolfe is up to 796 points for her career with an average of 15.6 over her first 51 contests at Fordham, all starts, beginning with her first collegiate game against #16 Notre Dame at home in front of a sold out Rose Hill Gym where she nearly triple-doubled (10 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists) in a close five-point loss to the Irish.
The 5'9 guard shot 41.0% from the floor a year ago, 38.3% from behind the arc, and 81.2% from the charity stripe. She is a 41.8% overall career shooter, 34.7% from deep, and 82.4% from the line, with averages of 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. She was a three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week honoree and a member of the All-Rookie team after leading all freshmen in minutes played (1,152) and earned all the aforementioned accolades in March.
Nationally Speaking
It's early days this season but it's never TOO early to take a look at where Fordham stands among its' Division I peers. A good indicator of it being too early is the fact the Rams are one of 108 undefeated programs. Still, the Rams are 32nd nationally in steals per game (13.0), 45th in threes per game (8.5), 48th in turnover margin (7.00), and 60th in points per game (80.5).
At the individual level, Dingle is fourth in the nation in scoring (26.0), ninth in steals per game (5.0), and ninth in minutes (39.5), while DeWolfe is third in minutes (40.0). Heremaia, meanwhile, is fourth nationally with 4.5 threes per game. Again, it's early.
Preseason Poll
Fordham has been predicted to finish third in the
annual Atlantic 10 preseason coaches poll, totaling 163 points among the 14 head coaches, just behind Dayton (193) and Rhode Island (174). The Rams return four of their five starters and 91% of their scoring from a year ago, while adding senior transfer
Asiah Dingle and Australian U19 international
Millie Prior.
Anna DeWolfe, the reigning Co-Player of the Year, was selected to the preseason All-Conference First Team, while
Kendell Heremaia was named to the Second Team.
This Is Our House
Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold a 121-33 (79.0%) record at home across 154 contests. Over the last four-plus seasons, the Rams are 65-12 in the Rose Hill Gym, including a 34-6 mark in conference play and three straight Holiday Classic crowns. Fordham is currently riding six straight wins in the Bronx.
3 and D
Stephanie Gaitley's Rams have dominated the all-time top-10 for scoring defense, holding nine of the 10 spots with the 2008-09 squad holding the record with just 47.9 points allowed per game. Fordham was 31st nationally last season with 57.4 points allowed per game. Gaitley's Rams have held opponents under 50 points 91 times in 316 games (28.8%) and hold an 84-7 record in those contests.
Similarly, Gaitley's Rams are all over the top-10 for three-pointers made. In fact, they hold every spot in the top-seven, with the 2018-19 squad breaking the 2013-14 title-winning Rams' record by 23 (267 total). They also set the record for attempts with a whopping 826. Last year's team was on pace to finish sixth, shooting 36.8% as a group before the WNIT, but poor shooting in the final two games dropped them to 11th in program history at 35.0%.
Up Next
The Rams return home to host RV/RV Michigan State on Sunday at 2 p.m.
