PITTSBURGH – Fresh off an emphatic 80-78 victory over Richmond Thursday at the Rose Hill Gym, Fordham University women's basketball heads to Duquesne for a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Dukes.

Turn Up and Tune In

• Fordham and Duquesne square off at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+ from the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh.

• WFUV carries the radio feed Thursday on YouTube Live with Chris Carrino and Madi Dembele taking the trip with the Rams.

Rams at a Glance

• Fordham (7-6, 1-1) are coming off a thrilling 80-78 victory at home over Richmond Thursday, a wire-to-wire contest that saw four Rams finish in double figures.

• The win against the Spiders saw the Rams topple one of the nation's hottest shooting teams, outpacing Richmond both from the field and from the charity stripe, while nearly matching them from beyond the arc as well.

• The Rams continue a tough stretch to open 2025, playing four games over 10 days from Jan. 2-11, heading to Duquesne Sunday, followed by an 11:00 a.m. meeting with George Washington on Jan. 8, and a trip to Loyola Chicago on Jan. 11.

• The Rams went the first 11 games without allowing 70 or more points to any opponent, and held seven of those teams below 60 points.

• Thursday was the first time Fordham allowed more than 56 points scored in any of their seven wins on the year, holding LIU to a season-low 43 points on Dec. 8.

• Taylor Donaldson has led the Rams in scoring in three of the last four games, and sits amongst the top-50 players in the nation in a plethora of statistical categories, including points per game (44th), steals per game (41st), three pointers per game (7th), and total three pointers (41st).

• Irene Murua posted a career high 24 points against Richmond, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, also marking her most made field goals in a game as well, and leads the Rams shooting 59.4% on the year.

• As a team the Rams sit fifth in the A-10 shooting 41.3% from the floor, and fourth in the league with 14.2 offensive rebounds per game.

• The Fordham defense has wreaked havoc on its opponents, placing third in the A-10 forcing 19.7 turnovers per game, fourth in blocks per game at 3.46 and fifth in steals per game, collecting 9.62 per game.

Leading the Herd

• Pacing the offense and ranked second in the A-10 at 18.5 points per game, Donaldson also enters the weekend leading the conference in three pointers made per game at 3.18 and second in the league with 35 total made treys. Donaldson also sits fourth in the A-10 in steals per game at 2.64.

• Irene Murua leads the team and sits third in the league in field goal percentage at 59.4% and tops the Rams rebounding numbers with 6.5 per contest, placing her 11th in the conference.

• Taya Davis sits fifth in the A-10 at 4.2 assists per game to lead the team in that category, coming off a season-high eight assists night against Richmond.

• Kaila Berry and Karissa Antoine are averaging 3.5 rebounds per game each, with eight different Rams averaging at least 2.8 rebounds per game.

• Chae Harris has been consistent whether in the starting five or coming off the bench, making seven starts while averaging 8.3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds per game and 1.3 steals per game.

Matchup History

• Duquesne holds a 23-12 edge in the all-time series against Fordham, claiming last season's meeting to snap a three-game win streak for Fordham. Sunday will mark the first of two meetings with the Dukes, with game two between the two sides set for Feb. 19 in The Bronx.

• In an overtime thriller back on Dec. 5, 2023, Duquesne snuck away with a 75-73 win in Pittsburgh last season, in a game that saw Taylor Donaldson finish with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. The Rams would also limit Megan McConnell to just 12 points in that game.

Dueling Duquesne

• Despite a 9-2 start to the year, Duquesne sits winless through the first two conference games of the year falling to Davidson and VCU by a combined eight points, 76-70 and 65-63 respectively.

• Megan McConnell leads the Dukes once again this season, averaging 19.8 points per game, 5.8 assists per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 3.8 steals per game, leading the conference in each, while sitting eighth in rebounding.

• Duquesne enters Sunday 44th in the nation in scoring offense, leading the A-10 at 77.5 points per game and also pace the league in steals per game (12.0), three pointers per game (10.1), and turnovers forced per game (22.92).

Thursday Thriller at Rose Hill

• The Rams captured an 80-78 win over the A-10's top team in an absolute thriller in the Rose Hill Gym Thursday night.

• Despite facing a team shooting top 30 in the nation in field goal percentage, three point percentage, and free throw percentage as a team, the Rams outshot Richmond from the field and the charity stripe, and led 46-38 on points in the paint. 

• Fordham shot 55.2% from the field making 32-of-58 shots as a group, and sank 10-of-12 free throws, the best tally in a game this season.

• Four Rams finished the game in double figures with each shooting at least 46% from the floor. 

• Irene Murua lit up the floor draining a career high 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and was followed by 18 points from Taylor Donaldson. 

• Finishing just two assists shy of a double-double, Taya Davis would add 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, followed by 11 points from Chae Harris.

Next Stop

• Fordham will return home for the annual Kids Day Out game Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 11:00 a.m. at the Rose Hill Gym.