CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - Returning to the hardwood following a 10-day break from action, Fordham University women's basketball heads to Virginia for a Thursday night clash against UVA. The Rams will take on the Cavaliers at 6:00 p.m. from John Paul Jones Arena with the game broadcast live on ACC Network Extra, available through ESPN+ and the ESPN App.

Fordham Fast Pass

• Fordham enters play 5-6, playing for the first time since Dec. 10, a 77-74 loss on the road at Fairfield.

• Fordham is playing its fourth consecutive road contests after starting the year with seven of their first eight games at home

• Despite being just over a month into the campaign, the Rams are playing their 12th of 29 regular season games Thursday, which also serves as the final game of non-conference play.

• Fordham and Virginia will meet on the hardwood for just the third time in the history the two programs, with UVA claiming the first two decisions in the all-time series

• The Rams are 23rd nationally in steals per game at 11.5 per game, and lead the A-10 in that category as a team

• Fordham also sits 47th in turnovers forced per game (20.00) and  59th in the country in blocks per game (4.4).

• Emy Hayford sits 37th nationally in total steals with 26 followed by Donaldson and Matilda Flood who are tied for 69th in the country as well. Together, Donaldson, Hayford, and Flood stand first, second, and third respectively amongst all A-10 players in total steals.

• Taylor Donaldson currently places 42rd in the country averaging 19.4 points per game, and is scoring at the highest clip of any player in the A-10

Blast Through the Past

Thursday will mark just the third time Fordham and Virginia have faced one another in women's basketball, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 29, 1994, a UVA win in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers also took the inaugural meeting between the two sides in a neutral site battle at Villanova back in 1988.

Leading the Herd

At 19.4 points per game, Donaldson is leading the team on offense, tallying 175 points in her first nine games of the season, with Emy Hayford sitting second at 12.4 points per game, as the only Ram to start in all 11 games this season, shooting 42 percent from the field. The conference leaders in steals per game, three players have picked 20 or more, led by 28 from Hayford, and 25 from both Donaldson and Matilda Flood. The trio also sit amongst the top-six players in the conference in total steals and steals per game, and each sit in the top-75 players nationally in total steals.

Mandy McGurk has tallied 10 steals thus far, while Rose Nelson and Maranda Nyborg help lead Fordham's defensive dominance with 13 and 12 blocks respectively. As a team, the Rams have also assisted on just shy of half of their makes this season with 136 dimes on 281 total made shots, led by 36 from Taya Davis, and as a team are shooting 41 percent from the field and just over 31 percent from three-point range. On defense, Fordham holds a +3.4 turnover margin over their opponents, and are averaging 4.4 blocks per game as well, good enough for 59th in the nation as a team.

Pack Your Bags

After wrapping up a three game road week with last Sunday's visit to the Nutmeg State, the Rams played three road games from Dec. 5-10, after starting the year with a long home stretch. With a break from Dec. 10-21 for finals, the trip to Virginia will wrap a series of four straight road games and formally conclude the non-conference slate as well. Returning home for the first time since Dec. 3, the Rams will play one more game before the calendar flips to 2024, hosting St. Joseph's on Dec. 30 in the second of 18 games amidst the Atlantic 10 schedule.

Run it Back Recap

In another game that saw the Rams battle it out through the closing seconds on the road, Fordham fell to Fairfield 77-74 Sunday afternoon in Connecticut. The closing stages of game time would be stretched over the course of several minutes, with three stoppages for replay reviews late in the contest, including the final one with less than five seconds remaining to send Fordham to the free-throw line. Fairfield would hold off the Rams with their own opportunities at the stripe, taking the win by one possession.

Vying Against Virginia

Coming off a buzzer-beating loss to Wofford Saturday night at home, Virginia had won three in a row, and  enters Thursday at 7-3 on the year. The second ACC opponent the Rams have faced this season, the Cavaliers also conclude non-conference play Thursday, before hosting N.C. State on New Year's Eve. Camryn Taylor leads the team scoring 14.6 points per game, ahead of Kymora Johnson with 10.7 per contest. 

Next Stop

Fordham women's basketball will return to the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym Dec. 30 when they take on Saint Joseph's in the first conference home game under Head Coach Bridgette Mitchell.