SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Hitting the road for the first time this season, Fordham University women's basketball heads to the Garden State for a meeting with Seton Hall Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Turn Up and Tune In
Tuesday night's battle with the Pirates will stream live via the Pirate Sports Network (PSN) on FloHoops with Ryan Johnston and Phil Stern on the call. WFUV will once again hit the road alongside the Rams for the 2024-25 campaign, with on the radio call on YouTube Live and on FM 90.7.
Matchup Notes
Tuesday will mark the 13th all-time meeting between Fordham and Seton Hall, with the Pirates holding an 8-4 edge, including the most recent matchup on Dec. 17, 202, a 78-72 final in The Bronx. Fordham's last win came in the meeting prior, nearly three years to the day, an 82-63 victory in South Orange on Nov. 13, 2021. That game marked the first meeting between the two teams since 2015, and this week will mark just the seventh meeting between the two Hudson River foes since 1990.
About Seton Hall
Faith Masonius would lead the Pirates in their season opener, as the newcomer tallied a career-high 23 points in a 44-point victory for Seton Hall in their season opener against Wagner Thursday night. Seton Hall would force the Seahawks into 26 turnovers in that game, setting up a matchup between a pair of top defenses in the Tri-State Area Tuesday night.
Gotta Get Low, Low, Low
The Maroon and White would own the area below the basket, outscoring Cal State Fullerton 42-12 in the paint Friday night, with Fordham never trailing in the game at any point, and only allowing the Titans to tie the score on three occasions.
A dominant effort down low to start the second half, the Maroon and White would outscore the Titans 16-6 in the paint in the third quarter alone, scoring all but three of their points in that frame from within the painted area.
On the Glass
Monday's opener saw the Rams pull down 33 rebounds, with a +10 margin on the boards over Adelphi. A common theme from Coach Mitchell's first year at the helm, 9-of-10 players who saw action against the Panthers would collect multiple rebounds, split nearly evenly amongst the team.
In their second night of action against Cal St. Fullerton, the Rams upped their rebounding total to 44, including 16 on the offensive glass, including six in the fourth quarter. That number marked the fifth time in the last six games, dating back to last season, that the Rams have tallied at least 15 offensive boards, starting that stretch on Feb. 21, 2024 against Saint Louis.
With 15 rebounds through the first two games, Irene Murua leads the Rams, averaging 7.5 rebounds/game, followed closely by Karissa Antoine, collecting 13 off the Fordham bench to average 6.5 through the first week of her collegiate career. Murua has also been crucial in giving her team extra opportunities, pulling down eight of her 15 boards on the offensive end.
You Shall Not Pass
Last season, Fordham as a team led the Atlantic 10 in steals per game with 9.7 as a team for the year, with five different players averaging at least 1.3 steals per game. In their first action of the 2024-25 campaign, the Maroon and White collected 13 steals in Monday's meeting with Adelphi, led by a career-high five from Taya Davis, leading six different Rams to collect at least one against the Panthers.
The Maroon and White would match that total in Friday's meeting with Cal St. Fullerton, collecting another 13 steals, while forcing the Titans into 19 turnovers for the game. Both Precious Omoshola and Kaila Berry set a new career-high with four steals apiece, ahead of three from Camila De Pool, also a career-best for the Rams' rookie.
Davis paces that group, averaging an even 3.0 steals/game, with Omoshola averaging 2.5/game, and both De Pool and Berry sitting at 2.0/game each. Chae Harris at 1.5 steals/game has picked a trio of steals, and leads the Rams as the only player with multiple blocked shots thus far, tallying three to average 1.5/game entering Tuesday.
Efficiency Matters
Entering the weekend, the Rams have three players shooting over 50% from the field with at least 10 shot attempts, led by Amiyah Ferguson, who has shot 7-of-11 in her first two collegiate games, shooting 63.6% last week. Omoshola has shot 6-of-11 from the floor, a 54.5% shooting clip, while Murua has tallied an even 50% shooting week in her first two games in Maroon and White, shooting 7-of-14.
Chae Harris paces the Rams' offense averaging 11.5 points per game, after an 18-point performance in her Fordham debut last Monday, including 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range. Ferguson sits just behind her at 9.0 points per game, scoring 18 points, including 10 points last time out against Cal State Fullerton.
In the Win Column
Collecting their first victory of the season Friday, Fordham defeated Cal St. Fullerton, 66-51, to improve to 1-1 on the year, with the Rams' defense highlighting the night, picking 13 steals for the second game in a row to open the 2024-25 season, while forcing the Titans into 19 turnovers over the course of the game.
Both Omoshola and Berry set a new career-high with four steals apiece Friday night, ahead of three from De Pool, also a career-best for the Rams' rookie. The Maroon and White would dominate below the basket, outsourcing Cal State Fullerton 42-12 in the paint, with Fordham never trailing in the game at any point, and only allowing the Titans to tie the score on three occasions.
A trio of Rams would finish the night in double figures, as Omoshola drilled 6-of-9 shots to tally 13 points, ahead of a double-double from Murua with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Completing the group, Ferguson shot an efficient 4-of-6 from the floor including a three pointer, for 10 points, along with four rebounds and two assists.
Back at it in the Boogie Down
In their first season under the direction of Coach Mitchell, the Rams tallied the most wins by a first-year Fordham head coach in nearly 30 years, as the Rams went 13-17 (8-10 A-10). Rattling off a plethora of wins down the stretch in the regular season, the Rams would go down to the wire in the A-10 Tournament, falling one point shy of a trip to the quarterfinals to Loyola Chicago.
Mitchell's Rams paced the league all season long on the defensive end, finishing first in the A-10 with 9.7 steals per game as a team, 49th best in the nation, with five different Rams ending the year averaging above 1.3 steals per game individually. That effort in the passing lanes also helped Fordham finish third in the conference in turnovers forced per game, getting their opponents to cough it up at an average of 17.79 times per game.
Next Stop
Returning home for the third time in the first four games of the season, Fordham will take on its second straight New Jersey foe and Saint Peter's comes to The Bronx for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at the Rose Hill Gym.
