Newport News, Va. – Sophomore captain
Anna DeWolfe has been named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Rhode Island's Emmannuelle Tahane, it was announced this afternoon by the league office. It is the second straight year in which a Ram has earned the distinction after
Bre Cavanaugh last Spring. For the first time in the Atlantic 10 era, and fourth in their history, the Rams also have three All-Conference selections; DeWolfe was named to the First Team, senior
Kendell Heremaia to the Second Team, and junior captain
Kaitlyn Downey to the Third Team. DeWolfe and Downey were also named to the All-Academic team, the second time the program has had two student-athletes earn that accolade in the same year.
"One thing we talk about with our team is when you have team success then there will certainly be individual honors to follow." Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "I can't begin to tell you how very proud I am of this team. We have endured a great deal of adversity this year and we have always taken the high road. This resulted in getting the #2 seed in a very competitive Atlantic 10 conference. Anna, Kaitlyn, and Kene certainly earned their honors and are a great representation of our team as a whole!"
DeWolfe, an All-Rookie selection last year and a preseason Third Team member, finished the regular season leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring and is currently 16
th nationally with 21.5 points per contest, one of six underclassmen in the top-20. A starter in all 15 contests this shortened season, she is seventh in the country with an average of 38.1 minutes played per game and is scoring her points efficiently as a guard, shooting 42.7% overall from the field, 38.8% from behind the three-point arc, and 80.3% from the free-throw line. She has scored in double figures in every game and has 10 games of 20 or more points. The Cumberland, Maine native paces the Rams with 20 steals and is second with 45 assists. She has earned one league Player of the Week honor and one Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Player of the Week in separate weeks. She scored her 700
th career point against Saint Joseph's on February 12.
"To be named Co-Player of the Year in an incredible honor. This is a result of hours of hard work put in when nobody sees it. Anna has been named a captain as a sophomore and has led the league in scoring. She is one of the nation's leading scorers and has accepted the challenge of being a leader both on and off the court. The cherry on top is Anna being named All-Academic, as well, as this is another area where has devoted herself. I'm super proud of her!"
Heremaia is averaging 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals across 28.9 minutes this season across 15 starts. A 2020 Third Team member, the New Zealand international earned two Atlantic 10 Player of the Week awards this season and is just 60 points away from 1,000 for her career. Heremaia entered the all-time top-10 for career three-pointers made this year, now up to eighth with 164, and is just outside the top-10 in efficiency, as well. She has scored in double figures on 11 occasions this year, with two double-doubles, and has at least one assist in every contest and at least two in all but four.
"Kene continues to improve every year. This year she brought another level of confidence. She will take advantage of the extra year and be back next season. We can't wait to see the final product!"
Downey is one of three players in the Atlantic 10 averaging a double-double, leading the league in rebounding with 10.5 boards per game, and chipping in an even 10.0 points per contest. She is 31
st nationally in rebounds per game, including ninth with 8.9 on the defensive end, and has six double-doubles on the year. She began her campaign with a monster 16-point, 20-rebound performance, becoming the seventh Ram to reach that number of boards, earning one of her two Player of the Week honors this season. The Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. native leads the Rams with 47 assists, committing just 27 turnovers, and 15 blocks, while shooting a team-best 40.8% from distance and 39.1% overall from the floor.
"This has certainly been a breakout year for Kaitlyn. She has finally pieced together her ability to go inside and out. She is a tough matchup for opponents. I'm so happy to see her work ethic pay off both on and off the court as she was also named to the All-Academic team. Great job!"
All three are integral cogs in the 10
th-best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 53.1 points per game to opponents. All three are also vital to the 16
th-most efficient three-point shooting offense in the nation, the Rams hitting 37.6% of their long-range attempts at a clip of 8.7 per contest, which ranks 22
nd and both tops in the A-10.
Fordham, with an 8-2 conference record, is the #2 seed at the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship. The Rams have earned a double bye and will play the winner of #7 Massachusetts and #10 Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 12, at 5 p.m. on ESPN+. The semifinals and finals will be shown nationally on CBS Sports Network and ESPNU, respectively.
