Second-Seeded Women's Basketball Heads to the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship

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Game Notes
 
Bronx, N.Y. – The Rams (12-3, 8-2) were able to get one warm-up game after more than two weeks without competition after a campus-wide pause, defeating George Washington on the road, 48-43, in nonconference play. Fordham, this year's regular season runner-up, will play #7 Massachusetts (12-6, 7-5) in Friday's third quarterfinal, with tip-off from VCU's Siegel Center set for 5 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. To mark this historic year and to support the program going forward, please consider making a donation today! Our goal is to reach 237 donors to celebrate the number of women who have donned the maroon & white!
 
Also check out the influential 1970's All-Decade Team, the high-scoring 1980's All-Decade Team and the recently announced 1990's All-Decade Team, which made it to four straight Patriot League title games, winning two, and the 2000's All-Decade Team.
 
Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer
Every year, Fordham women's basketball teams up with the Go4theGoal foundation to raise funds and awareness for kids battling cancer in our communities. The Rams wore yellow laces for their game against Saint Joseph's on February 12^th, although several players wear the laces for more than one game each year. All funds raised will be used to improve the lives of kids battling cancer by providing financial assistance, funding innovative research, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, and granting personal wishes. Fans can support a great cause and make donations at this link.
 
Play4Kay
Every year in February, women's basketball teams across the country don pink to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research and to celebrate those who survive with or have lost their lives to the disease. Fordham wore pink uniforms for every home contest last month. Please consider making a donation to help those in need.
 
Anna DeWolfe Named A-10 Co-Player of the Year, Heremaia and Downey Named All-Conference
Read all about the accolades earned by this trio, the first time in the Atlantic 10 era that Fordham has had three All-Conference selections and the second-ever time with two All-Academic honorees.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham's defense kept the Rams in the game while they shook off some offensive rust after more than two weeks between competition. Anna DeWolfe and Kendell Heremaia rallied the visitors late in a rare nonconference meeting at George Washington. Read all about it HERE.
 
Hungry Like DeWolfe
This year's Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year, sophomore captain Anna DeWolfe is 16th in all of Division I in scoring with 21.5 points per game, one of six underclassmen inside the top-20. The Cumberland, Maine native has recorded games of 20 or more points 10 times, including a career-high 34 points against Hofstra, crossing the 700-point threshold for her career against Rhode Island. 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 42.7% from the floor, 38.8% from deep, and 80.3% from the free-throw line, and leads the team with 20 steals and is second with 45 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 above that this year, 7th among her peers this year with 38.1 minutes per contest.
 
Anna in the Clutch
In the final five minutes of games this season, sophomore Anna DeWolfe is shooting 63.3% overall (19-of-30), 61.5% (8-of-13) from distance, and 83.3% (15-of-18) from the free-throw line. If you extrapolate that to the final 10 minutes of games this year, DeWolfe is averaging 6.2 fourth-quarter points on 55.6% shooting, including a 52.4% mark from downtown and 84.6% from the stripe. As a whole, the Rams are shooting 44.8% from the floor in final periods and 36.4% from deep compared to opponents' marks of 37.5% and 25.7%, respectively. 
 
Chairwomen of the Boards
Fordham has been beastly on the boards this year, averaging 38.5 per contest and with the 15th-highest rebounding margin in the country (9.4), holding opponents to just 29.1 boards. The Rams have grabbed 177-of-578 rebounds on the offensive glass, or 30.6%, and have six players with at least 15 offensive boards, led by junior Megan Jonassen's 56 (out of 101 total). She is joined by Kaitlyn Downey (25), Matilda Flood (20), Katie McLoughlin (20), Sarah Karpell (16), and Kendell Heremaia (15). Downey is 31st in the country with 10.5 rebounds per game and ninth overall with 8.9 defensive boards per game, while Jonassen is 27th with 3.7 o-boards per game. Jonassen (169-of-303) has more offensive boards in her caree than defensive while McLoughlin (34-of-71) is close.
 
Lucky Number Seven
Senior Kendell Heremaia has racked up 940 points, 604 rebounds, 237 assists, and 108 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. 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 second-fewest points but the second-most assists and the third-most rebounds 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, now up to eighth with 164, but recently fell just outside the top-10 with a 35.0% rate from behind the arc. She could potentially join the top-10 for career rebounds, too, as she is 98 away from passing Abigail Corning.
 
Nationally Speaking (as of 3/10)
Per-game statistics take on even more significance this year during the ongoing pandemic. That said, the Rams have the 10th-stingiest defense in the country, allowing just 53.1 points, and are 15th in rebounding margin (+9.4), 15th in three-point percentage (37.6%), 22nd in threes per game (8.7), 31st in field goal defense (36.5%), 32nd in three-point defense (27.1%), and 40th with just 14.7 fouls committed per game.
 
At the individual level, DeWolfe's 21.5 points per game ranks 16th in the country and 7th in minutes played (38.1). Downey is 9th in the nation with 8.9 defensive rebounds per game and 31st with 10.5 overall boards per contest. Megan Jonassen is 27th overall and second in the A-10 with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game, as well.
 
Deeper Dive Into Games Won
In 12 wins this year, the Rams are outscoring opponents 62.7-49.5, a whopping 13.2-point disparity. Fordham is shooting 42.4% from the floor as a group and 38.7% from behind the arc, while holding opponents to marks of 35.1% and 26.3%, respectively. On the glass, Fordham has a 37.4-28.3 advantage. Anna DeWolfe leads the way with 22.3 points on 45.1% shooting overall and 41.3% from downtown, with a team-high 40 assists and 17 steals. Kendell Heremaia and Kaitlyn Downey are combining for 24.2 points, 18.6 rebounds, 70 assists, 28 steals, and 17 blocks, while Megan Jonassen and Katie McLoughlin chip in a combined 9.2 points and 8.8 rebounds. Downey has been especially impressive with a near-double-double of 9.8-point, 10.8-rebound with 13 blocks and 14 steals. Four Rams are shooting 39.0% or better from distance.
 
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 is currently 10th nationally this season with 53.1 points allowed per game. Gaitley's Rams have held opponents under 50 points 91 times in 311 games (29.3%) 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. This year's squad is shooting 37.6% from behind the arc, what would be the sixth-highest mark in program history.
 
Rams in the Pros
G'mrice Davis ('18) and Mary Goulding ('19) are the two former Rams who graduated and currently play overseas. Davis currently plays in Poznan, Poland in the Polish EBLK. After spending time in summer camp with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, she signed her first contract with GAS Kalyvion in Greece and has since played in Australia, alongside Goulding, and Israel. Goulding signed with Sweden's IK Eos initially before moving to Australia, first with the Rockland Cyclones and currently with Bendigo Spirit. Lauren Holden ('19) immediately moved into coaching, joining up with former associate head coach Angelika Szumilo at Fairleigh Dickinson as one of her assistants.
 
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
With a win, the Rams will face either #3 Saint Louis or #6 Richmond in Saturday's second semifinal at 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Two wins mean an appearance in the 2021 A-10 Championship game at noon on Sunday on ESPNU.