Women's Basketball Readies for 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship

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A-10 Championship Central
Game Notes
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Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham (18-11, 10-6) secured the #4 seed in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship and a double bye and will face off against #5 Richmond (19-9, 8-6) on Friday, March 3^rd, at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and WFUV. The Rams are seeking to secure a third A-10 Championship this weekend.
 
All ways to watch Friday's game can be found above, as well as all Championship info for the rest of the weekend.
 
Dingle Named A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, DeWolfe and Downey Also Earn Year-End Awards
Asiah Dingle became the second Ram in program history to earn the award, after G'mrice Davis in 2018, while also being named First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive. Anna DeWolfe made it three consecutive years on the First Team, a program record in the A-10 era and just the second time in program history, after Sharon Nast from 1984-86 in the MAAC. They are the second Fordham duo to be on the First Team together since Bre Cavanaugh and Mary Goulding in 2019. Kaitlyn Downey expanded her program record with her third consecutive All-Academic accolade, as well. Read more here.
 
Four Rams Named CSC Academic All-District
Formerly named CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), the newly rebranded College Sports Communicators has revamped its Academic All-District model, allowing up to four nominees per school as long as the student-athlete has a 3.5 GPA and has played in 50% of the team's games on the year. Fordham had exactly four eligible players – Kaitlyn Downey, Megan Jonassen, Sarah Karpell, and Colleen McQuillen all earned their first All-District honors on Tuesday afternoon. For Downey, it's not her first rodeo, already being named A-10 All-Academic each of the past two years. Read more here.
 
Last Time Out
Led by Anna DeWolfe's efficient 28 points, Fordham dominated at Davidson, 74-65, after a slow start in the opening frame. The Rams led by as much as 21 points in the contest before a late Wildcat rally finished back in single digits in the final seconds. Davidson began the game with six unanswered points but Fordham responded with eight unanswered, including two Kaitlyn Downey triples, and ultimately took the lead for good, 10-9, on a tough Jada Dapaa layup. That 8-0 run eventually grew to 20-5 to give the visitors a 20-11 lead before two last-minute home baskets. The visitors led by 13 at the half, 40-27, and its largest lead came early in the fourth, 69-48.
 
DeWolfe shot 9-of-18 from the floor, 4-of-9 from deep, and 6-of-6 from the line for her 28 points, while Asiah Dingle contributed 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals. During the game she scored her 2,000th career point and notched her 101st steal of the year, setting a new Fordham single-season record.
 
Series History
The Spiders own a 14-10 record over the Rams since 1988. The lone non-conference meeting came that year, a 61-55 Richmond win at a Georgia Tech tournament, before the Spiders joined the A-10 in 2001-02. Richmond dominated the early portion of the series but since 2013, Fordham has won nine of 12 contests, including a 68-59 win earlier this year in the Bronx. In that one, the Rams trailed for much of the contest before pouring in 30 ponts in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory, led by DeWolfe's 24 points, Asiah Dingle's 17 points and eight steals, and Jada Dapaa's double-double.
 
Iron Women
Kaitlyn Downey broke the program record for career starts at Saint Joseph's, her 127th, in her 133rd consecutive appearance, now up to 136 starts. She's never missed a game in her career, now third all-time with 142 since arriving in the Bronx. Anna DeWolfe, similarly, has made 108 consecutive starts, never missing a game. Sarah Karpell made her 100th appearance at St. Bonaventure and Asiah Dingle, with 138, and Jada Dapaa, with 116, are over the century mark in their careers, as well. Megan Jonassen was also up to 129 before her season-ending injury.
 
Nationally Speaking (as of 2/27)
Fordham have played at a much faster tempo this season, averaging 72.6 points per contest, which ranks 53rd in the nation. The offense's 1.13 assist/turnover ratio, third in the Atlantic 10, sits 35th nationally, with the 44th-most assists per game (15.7). From behind the arc, the Rams are 49th with 7.8 threes per game. The squad is committing just 13.8 turnovers per contest, ranked 58th, with the 43rd-best turnover margin (3.86). The offense is also hitting free throws at the 17th-best rate (78.3%) despite taking the 347th-fewest attempts (10.8).
 
Individually, Asiah Dingle is fourth in steals per game, 12th in field goals, and 26th in points per game. Anna DeWolfe is 32nd in points per game, 15th in field goals, 30th in total threes, 39th in threes per game, and 34th in minutes per game.
 
Where Do The 2022-23 Rams Stand in Program History?
Playing at a much faster tempo this season has pushed Fordham high up several program statistical lists. Their 72.6 points per game average currently ranks joint-second all-time being the best example. The Rams are currently fourth in three-pointers (226), fifth in points (2,104), fifth in field goals (816), and fifth in steals (264). The offense's 78.3% free-throw rate is also second-best and their 1.13 assist/turnover ratio is third-highest. 
 
Three 1,000-Point Scorers
With her tough turnaround second-quarter jumper at Princeton, Kaitlyn Downey became the 25th Ram to score 1,000 points in program history. Now 13th with 1,261 points, she joins Asiah Dingle (2,001 across three schools and five seasons) and Anna DeWolfe (1,830 - third-most in school history). Nationally, the Rams are one of 12 schools with three active student-athletes with 1,000 career points, although they are one of only two mid-major schools, along with UMass. Virginia Tech has four 1,000-point scorers.
 
Hungry Like DeWolfe
The 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and two-time WBCA All-America honorable mention, senior Anna DeWolfe is averaging 18.4 points per game on 42.1% shooting overall and 36.2% shooting from distance (75-of-207). Now a three-time First Team All-Conference selection, she became the 24th Ram to reach 1,000 career points on December 12, 2021 against Lafayette, doing so on a patented mid-range jumper, hitting nothing but net, and is now up to third all-time with 1,830 points.
 
For her career, across 108 consecutive starts, DeWolfe is third with 717 field goals, second with 234 three-pointers, fifth with a career 16.9 per-game scoring average, eighth with a 83.5% rate the line, and fourth with 3,977 minutes played. Her 75 threes this season are fifth-most, her 209 field goals 10th-most.
 
Dingle All The Way
The Boston native is up to 138 career appearances across three schools and four-plus seasons, now with 120 career starts, starting all but one contest for Fordham since she arrived. Last year a Third Team All-Conference selection and now a First Team honoree, Dingle leads the team and league in scoring (19.1 points), assists (94), and steals (101), while shooting 44.2% from the floor, 33.3% from behind the arc, and 77.7% on a team-high 112 free-throw attempts. Her 101 steals broke Mary Hayes' long-standing record of 100, set in 1978, and she is already 10th in program history with 167 thefts in just 58 games (2.9 average, also a school record).
 
For her career, she has accumulated 2,001 points, averaging 14.5 per game, 722 field goals, 327 steals, and a 430 assist/449 turnover ratio. She is a 42.8% career shooting with averages of 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. Prior to her arrival in the Bronx, Dingle was a 19.2% three-point shooter on 104 career attempts. Last year she shot 18-of-64 (28.1%) and has continued to work at her long-range shot, shooting 33.3% this year on a career-high 123 attempts.
 
Dingle leads all active Division I players in steals by a whopping 28, ahead of Gardner-Webb's Jhessyka Williams in second. She's also eighth in free throw attempts, 10th in steal average, 11th in free throws made, and 18th in points.
 
Princess Of Thieves
Asiah Dingle played in her 50th Fordham game against Richmond, where she totaled eight steals, tied for second-most in program history. She, of course, owns the record, too, set this year against Saint Peter's, with 10, and now holds the single-season record with 101. Dingle is Division I's active leader in steals by a whopping 28, with 327. She has at least one steal in all but two contests this year and at least two in all but four, with 16 instances of four or more. Last year she had eight such games and is up to 37 for her four-year career.
 
Downey Moving Up
The graduate forward broke the program record at Saint Joseph's for career starts, with 127, surpassing Samantha Clark ('17), and has now appeared in 142 consecutive contests since arriving in the Bronx, third-most all-time. At Princeton earlier this season, she became the 25th Ram to reach 1,000 career points. She's up to 13th now with 1,261, is fifth 891 career rebounds, fifth with 217 three-pointers, and 10th with 91 blocks.
 
Asiah and Co. Steal the Show
You thought Asiah Dingle's five steals in the season opener was a handful? She doubled that with a program-record 10 against Saint Peter's, notching her ninth and 10th on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Her previous best was six, which she'd accomplished several times over her career, including once with Fordham. The previous school record was eight, done five times by four student-athletes, but not since Lauren Fleischer in 2001. Her teammates added 11 thefts against the Peacocks to set a new single-game team record, as well, by three, with 21.
 
Up Next
A win will see Fordham face the winner of #1 UMass and #9 George Mason on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the first semifinal contest, shown live on CBS Sports Network. A win in that one sets up a chance for the program's third Atlantic 10 title on Sunday at noon on ESPNU.