BRONX, N.Y. – The 2023-24 college basketball season tips off Monday afternoon with a full night of action at the Rose Hill Gym, as the Fordham University women's basketball team opens the year at home against Adelphi.
Head Coach Bridgette Mitchell makes her highly anticipated debut at the helm for the Rams who will tip off at 5:30 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader, with the men's team taking on Wagner at 7:30 p.m. Andrew Bogusch and Mike Watts will have the call of the game on ESPN+.
New Kids on the Block
Fordham women's basketball will look much different than it did a year ago, and with new change comes new anticipation throughout the program for what's to come this season and beyond. Despite returning just four players from last year's squad, Coach B and the Rams have bolstered their roster and are ready to win now, bringing a number of veteran student-athletes to The Bronx.
A trio of graduate transfers paved the way as the first newcomers to the squad earlier this year, including Emy Hayford who came over from Pittsburgh. An ACC All-Academic selection last season, Hayford competed at the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship, averaging 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. During Hayford's freshman and sophomore campaigns at Pitt, Coach Mitchell worked with Hayford as an assistant coach prior to her hiring by Northeastern.
Mandy McGurk, who arrives in the five boroughs from Penn, started all 29 games last year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.1 boards (30% coming on the offensive glass), 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals over 31.1 minutes. New York native Kailah Harris returns across the Hudson to her home state from Seton Hall, after appearing in 40 contests during her career with the Pirates, making one start, with averages of 0.9 points and 1.5 rebounds. She shot 37.8% over her career, including hitting all three attempts from the field last season.
The Rams also brought in the likes of Aminata Ly, a redshirt-senior from Cleveland State who in 2022-23 appeared in 29 contests and helped Cleveland State win the 2021 WBI and the 2023 Horizon League Championship. Taylor Donaldson also comes to The Big Apple after leading the way for New Mexico State a year ago, starting 18 of 33 contests, averaging 7.5 points on 37.5% shooting with 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game across 28.6 minutes. She helped the Aggies reach the WBI third round, and recorded 12 double-digit scoring efforts and five games with at least three steals
Taya Davis rounds out the transfers to this year's lineup, coming to Fordham from Garden State CC, where she played in 31 of a possible 32 contests during the 2022-23 season. She averaged 8.5 points on 29.2% shooting across 32.6 minutes with a whopping 7.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. A pair of freshmen also make up the squad in Maya Giles-Jones out of Fayetteville, N.C. and Cassidy Mahaney from Urbana, Md.
The Core Four
The original "Core Four" in The Bronx used to reside just a Subway ride away from the Rose Hill Gym, but this edition refers to the Rams' four returnees from the 2022-23 season. The "core" of the team this season, which includes Matilda Flood, Rose Nelson, Kaila Berry, and Maranda Nyborg.
Named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll last season, Flood returns in 2023-24 after appearing in all 32 contests as a junior, where she averaged 2.4 points on 34.5% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists over 17.5 minutes off the bench and finished second on the team in blocks (23) and fifth in steals (25). She also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in the WNIT win over Drexel, adding three points, two blocks, one assist, and one steal over 14 minutes (3/16).
Also named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll a year ago, Nelson appeared in 16 contests as a freshman and averaged 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds, shooting 54.2% on the year across 8.7 minutes. She made her collegiate debut with five rebounds in nine minutes against Wagner. Berry appeared in two contests during her freshman campaign, making her collegiate debut with a minute at St. Bonaventure, and grabbed an offensive rebound in a minute against Loyola Chicago.
Returning to the lineup after sitting out the 2022-23 campaign due to injury, Nyborg appeared in 25 contests as a sophomore, averaging 2.2 points on 42.6% shooting with 1.6 rebounds and the second-most blocks (16) in the squad. She also had two points with two offensive rebounds over 12 minutes of an overtime win against Quinnipiac in the season opener that year..
Coach B in the Building
Mitchell comes to Rose Hill following two seasons as the head coach at Northeastern, where her teams consistently outperformed expectations.
Picked to finish eighth in this year's preseason poll, Mitchell promptly led the Huskies to a share of their first-ever CAA regular season title with a 13-5 league mark as part of a 19-12 overall record. For her efforts, Mitchell's peers recognized her with CAA Coach of the Year honors. A top-three seed in the CAA Tournament for the first time since joining the conference in 2005-06, Northeastern downed sixth-seeded Stony Brook to advance to the semifinals for just the third time in the school's CAA tenure.
In addition to Mitchell's coaching accolade, three Huskies received all-conference recognition this March. Derin Erdogan earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team, Gemima Motema garnered Third Team All-CAA and CAA All-Defensive Team honors and Deja Bristol was named the CAA Sixth Player of the Year.
As a first-year head coach in 2021-22, Mitchell inherited a team that was picked last in the 13-team CAA and finished inside the top half of the conference. Led by First Team All-CAA selection Kendall Currence and CAA Rookie of the Year Claudia Soriano, the Huskies advanced to the Women's Basketball Invitational for just the second time in program history after ending the regular season with a 14-14 record.
Making a House a Home
The 2023-24 calendar starts with a litany of home games for the Rams, who will play seven of their first eight games in the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym. With the lone trip out of The Bronx coming this weekend with a visit to Miami, Fordham will play five straight games at home from Nov. 16 to Dec. 2. That stretch will begin with the annual "Battle of the Bronx" when the Rams host Manhattan, the first of six games broadcast on SNY this season. Taking on Georgian Court just before thanksgiving, Fordham takes on UMass Lowell Nov. 25, followed by matchups with Saint Peter's and Maine the following week.
Playing the Panthers
Returning three of its top four leading scorers from a year ago, Adelphi is led by graduate forward Jenna Jordan who tallied 407 points on 48% shooting a season ago. Graduate guard Lauren Hammersley and junior guard Rolanda Robinson are the other two top returners on offense, after recording 240 and 156 points respectively. Last season the Panthers went 10-16 overall including a 7-13 record in the Northeast-10 Conference, falling to Southern Connecticut State in the opening round of the NE10 tournament.
Next Stop
Playing the second of back-to-back home games to open the season, Fordham women's basketball hosts UAlbany on Friday night from the Rose Hill Gym. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.
