FAIRFIELD, Conn. - With one more game on the docket to close a three-game road week, Fordham University women's basketball heads up the I-95 Sunday afternoon, as the Rams travel to the Nutmeg State to take on Fairfield. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Leo D. Mahoney Arena. 

Fordham Fast Pass

• Fordham enters play 5-5, coming off back-to-back one possession losses on the road.

• The Rams are 23rd nationally in steals per game at 11.8 per game, the highest mark of any A-10 team.

• Emy Hayford has collected the 15th most steals of any player in Division I women's basketball, followed by Donaldson who's 44th, and Matilda Flood who sits 55th in the country. 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 with 18.8 points per game, and is scoring at the highest clip of any player in the A-10 after claiming the conference's Player of the Week award Monday.

• Fordham sits 57th in the nation as a team in blocks per game, the second highest average in the A-10

• Maranda Nyborg and Rose Nelson sit tied for 82nd in the country in blocks per game 

• Forcing 20.6 turnovers per game, the Rams place 42nd amongst all Division I teams in that category which also leads the Atlantic 10, along with the third best turnover margin in the conference, which is also good enough for 74th nationally.

• The Rams are playing their third straight game on the road, following trips to Duquesne and Siena earlier in the week

• Fordham was one of four Atlantic 10 teams who opened A-10 play Tuesday night, falling to Duquesne in overtime in Pittsburgh. Conference play continues alongside the rest of the league's opening games on Dec. 30.

• Taylor Donaldson was tabbed A-10 Player of the Week Monday following a dominant week, led by a career-high 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting with seven three pointers against Saint Peter's, and she currently sits amongst the Top-100 players in the country in eight statistical categories

• Fordham has tallied double digit assists for six consecutive games and seven times this season.

Blast Through the Past

A series that once saw the two battle twice per season throughout the 1980's and '90s, Fordham and Fairfield have faced off just three times since the Rams departed the MAAC for the Atlantic 10 in 1995. Saturday will mark just the second meeting between the two since the turn of the century, having faced off last season in an overtime thriller at the Rose Hill Gym, with the Stags claiming the win in overtime. Fordham will look to avenge that loss in the return trip this weekend to the new Leo D. Mahoney Arena, the first visit to a new venue in the series 1987-88 when the teams met in White Plains, N.Y. for a neutral site bout. Fordham has a 4-19 record all-time in the series, with the Stags taking the last two victories, ahead of the Rams last win which came prior to that in the first of two non-conference games between the two sides in the late 90's, winning by three in The Bronx.

Leading the Herd

At 18.8 points per game, Donaldson is leading the team on offense, tallying 150 points in her first eight games of action, with Emy Hayford sitting second at 12.6 points per game, as the only Ram to start and play in all 10 games this season, shooting 42 percent from the field. With 118 steals as a team, three players have picked 20 or more, led by 27 from Hayford, 23 from Donaldson, and 22 from Matilda Flood. The A-10 leaders in steals as a team at 11.8 per game, 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-100 nationally.

Mandy McGurk has tallied 10 steals thus far, while Maranda Nyborg and Rose Nelson help lead that defensive dominance with 12 blocks apiece. As a team, the Rams have also assisted on just shy of half of their makes this season with 120 dimes on 251 total made shots, led by 34 from Taya Davis, and as a team are shooting 40 percent from the field and just over 30 percent from three-point range. On the glass, Fordham holds a +3.7 turnover margin over their opponents, and are averaging 4.4 blocks per game as well.

National Numbers

As the non-conference season begins to wind down, a number of Rams find themselves amongst the nations leaders in a variety of statistical categories, and as a team, place top-100 in five different headings as well…

Pack Your Bags

The Rams are wrapping up a three game road week with Sunday's visit to the Nutmeg State, following trips to Duquesne and Siena Tuesday and Thursday. Fordham will then have a break for finals from Dec. 10-21 before taking on Virginia to wrap four straight road games and formally conclude the non-conference slate. 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 this Atlantic 10 schedule.

Donaldson Dominates

Following an exhilarating week that saw her soar to a new career-high in points, senior Taylor Donaldson was tabbed as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week Monday afternoon.

In a pair of games, last week Donaldson averaged 28.0 points per game, while shooting an even 50% both from the field and beyond the arc. The Newbury Park, Calif. native would also average six rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, as she began the week with a career-high 35 point showing as the Rams defeated Saint Peter's 80-46. Shooting 12-for-19 in the game with seven three pointers, the performance marked the most points scored by a Fordham player since 2018.

Early Action in the A-10

Fordham headed to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a meeting with Duquesne, one of two games tipping off to officially open the league side of the calendar across the Atlantic 10. Dayton traveled to Davidson to complete the Dec. 5 doubleheader in women's basketball, with the remainder of the league not opening conference play until after the holiday break, on Dec. 30 with 14 of 15 teams in action just before the turn of the calendar to 2024.

Clicking the Guide Button

In addition the A-10 deal with ESPN will see the full slate of 18 Fordham home games broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, the 2023-24 Rams will have 10 total games broadcast on regional sports networks. The Rams will play four games on a network familiar to Bronx sports fans, with the YES (Yankees Entertainment & Sports) Network hosting four games, two in non-conference play with the second being the Maine game, followed by a pair of A-10 dates in late January. Earlier this season the Rams also played the first of six broadcasts for Fordham women's basketball on Sportsnet New York (SNY).

Fordham will take on Davidson on National television Jan. 14, 2024 when the Rams and Wildcats square off from the Rose Hill Gym on CBS Sports Network.

Run it Back Recap

For the second time in three days, Fordham went down to the wire on the road, finishing within one possession in a 65-62 loss to Siena Thursday night. Scoring 22 points for the second time this season, Emy Hayford would lead the Fordham offense as she sank 9-of-16 shots from the field along with a career-high seven steals. Taylor Donaldson would drill 18 as the only other Ram in double figures Thursday night, while she also pulled down eight boards and picked four steals of her own.

As a team, Fordham grabbed 19 steals, their most in a game this season, with Matilda Flood also adding four steals along with nine rebounds, and Taya Davis collected three steals as well. Siena would break out with the lead in the first quarter, a frame that saw Hayford drill nine of the Rams' first 13 points on the night as she went 4-of-6 from the field in the first 10 minutes of action.

Facing Fairfield

With their only setback coming in a three-point defeat on the road at Vanderbilt early in the year, Fairfield is off to a 6-1 start this season, claiming notable wins over Rutgers on the road in November and St. John's at home last time out. Ranked sixth in the country in field goal percentage defense, and 12th in field goal percentage offensively, the Stags lead the MAAC in a number of statistical categories, and are paced by Janelle Brown, who leads the conference in points per game and field goal percentage.

Next Stop

Fordham women's basketball will turn their attention to the classroom with finals week approaching, and will return to the hardwood on Thursday, Dec. 21 with a trip down to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers, the Rams' second ACC foe of the season.