BRONX, N.Y. – With the first victory of the year already under their belts, Fordham University women’s basketball returns to action at home Friday night, taking on UAlbany at the Rose Hill Gym. Tip off against the Great Danes is slated for 7:00 p.m. live on ESPN+ with Andrew Bogusch and Grant DelVecchio calling the action of the Empire State showdown.
Flipping Through the Record Books
The Rams and Great Danes have squared off on seven prior occasions, with Fordham holding a 5-2 edge in the all-time series, which began with a 20-point home victory in Bronx back in 2009. Hosting the most recent meeting between the two sides as well, Fordham took a 29-point victory over UAlbany, where Matilda Flood and Maranda Nyborg combined for 14 points and five rebounds in their first season with the Rams.
Starting off Strong
Taking the court officially for the first time together on Monday night, Fordham women’s basketball rang in the new season with a 70-43 victory over Adelphi, a game in which all 10 active players saw at least five minutes of action on the floor. Emy Hayford made her Rams’ debut in style, as the graduate transfer from Pitt tallied a career-high 18 points in the win, one of three players to finish in double figures on the night.
Outpacing the Panthers in three of four quarters, Fordham also saw three different players nab a trio of steals apiece, while grabbing 11 as a team, scoring 20 points off turnovers. Shooting just over 40% as a team, the Rams would also out rebound their opponents 55-39 for the game, led by 10 from Aminata Ly, with nine of 10 players pulling down two or more boards.
Weekend Warriors
Playing two games in less than 48 hours, Friday’s meeting with UAlbany will see the Rams quickly turn around and pack their bags for a trip down the coast for a meeting with Miami Sunday. The first of two ACC opponents Fordham will face during the non-conference calendar, the Rams and Hurricanes will tip off at 2:00 p.m. from the Watsco Center. The early season home-away test will be one of two instances this season where the Rams will have a two-day turnaround between games, with the other coming in back-to-back road dates at Duquesne and Siena in early December.
Making a House a Home
The 2023-24 calendar starts with a litany of home games for the Rams, who will play seven of their first eight games in the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym. With the lone trip out of The Bronx coming this weekend with a visit to Miami, Fordham will play five straight games at home from Nov. 16 to Dec. 2. That stretch will begin with the annual “Battle of the Bronx” when the Rams host Manhattan, the first of six games broadcast on SNY this season. Taking on Georgian Court just before thanksgiving, Fordham takes on UMass Lowell Nov. 25, followed by matchups with Saint Peter’s and Maine the following week.
Understanding UAlbany
Claiming a narrow three-point victory to open the season Monday, UAlbany defeated Merrimack 58-55 on the road. Former Ram Sarah Karpell led the Great Danes with 17 points and five rebounds on 4-7 shooting with a pair of threes, and was one of three players with 11 or more points for the game.
The 2023-24 edition of UAlbany women’s basketball features Karpell as one of several new additions to the lineup this year, as the Great Danes return six players from last season’s roster. Picked to finish third in the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, with Kayla Cooper receiving a Preseason All-Conference nod.
New Kids on the Block
Fordham women’s basketball will look much different than it did a year ago, and with new change comes new anticipation throughout the program for what’s to come this season and beyond. Despite returning just four players from last year’s squad, Coach B and the Rams have bolstered their roster and are ready to win now, bringing a number of veteran student-athletes to The Bronx.
A trio of graduate transfers paved the way as the first newcomers to the squad earlier this year, including Emy Hayford who came over from Pittsburgh. An ACC All-Academic selection last season, Hayford competed at the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship, averaging 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. During Hayford’s freshman and sophomore campaigns at Pitt, Coach Mitchell worked with Hayford as an assistant coach prior to her hiring by Northeastern.
Mandy McGurk, who arrives in the five boroughs from Penn, started all 29 games last year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.1 boards (30% coming on the offensive glass), 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals over 31.1 minutes. New York native Kailah Harris returns across the Hudson to her home state from Seton Hall, after appearing in 40 contests during her career with the Pirates, making one start, with averages of 0.9 points and 1.5 rebounds. She shot 37.8% over her career, including hitting all three attempts from the field last season.
The Rams also brought in the likes of Aminata Ly, a redshirt-senior from Cleveland State who in 2022-23 appeared in 29 contests and helped Cleveland State win the 2021 WBI and the 2023 Horizon League Championship. Taylor Donaldson also comes to The Big Apple after leading the way for New Mexico State a year ago, starting 18 of 33 contests, averaging 7.5 points on 37.5% shooting with 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game across 28.6 minutes. She helped the Aggies reach the WBI third round, and recorded 12 double-digit scoring efforts and five games with at least three steals
Taya Davis rounds out the transfers to this year’s lineup, coming to Fordham from Garden State CC, where she played in 31 of a possible 32 contests during the 2022-23 season. She averaged 8.5 points on 29.2% shooting across 32.6 minutes with a whopping 7.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. A pair of freshmen also make up the squad in Maya Giles-Jones out of Fayetteville, N.C. and Cassidy Mahaney from Urbana, Md.
The Core Four
The original “Core Four” in The Bronx used to reside just a Subway ride away from the Rose Hill Gym, but this edition refers to the Rams’ four returnees from the 2022-23 season. The “core” of the team this season, which includes Matilda Flood, Rose Nelson, Kaila Berry, and Maranda Nyborg.
Named to the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll last season, Flood returns in 2023-24 after appearing in all 32 contests as a junior, where she averaged 2.4 points on 34.5% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists over 17.5 minutes off the bench and finished second on the team in blocks (23) and fifth in steals (25). She also grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in the WNIT win over Drexel, adding three points, two blocks, one assist, and one steal over 14 minutes (3/16).
Also named to the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll a year ago, Nelson appeared in 16 contests as a freshman and averaged 1.8 points and 1.0 rebounds, shooting 54.2% on the year across 8.7 minutes. She made her collegiate debut with five rebounds in nine minutes against Wagner. Berry appeared in two contests during her freshman campaign, making her collegiate debut with a minute at St. Bonaventure, and grabbed an offensive rebound in a minute against Loyola Chicago.
Returning to the lineup after sitting out the 2022-23 campaign due to injury, Nyborg appeared in 25 contests as a sophomore, averaging 2.2 points on 42.6% shooting with 1.6 rebounds and the second-most blocks (16) in the squad. She also had two points with two offensive rebounds over 12 minutes of an overtime win against Quinnipiac in the season opener that year..
Coach B in the Building
Mitchell comes to Rose Hill following two seasons as the head coach at Northeastern, where her teams consistently outperformed expectations.
Picked to finish eighth in this year’s preseason poll, Mitchell promptly led the Huskies to a share of their first-ever CAA regular season title with a 13-5 league mark as part of a 19-12 overall record, earning CAA Coach of the Year honors. A top-three seed in the CAA Tournament for the first time since joining the conference in 2005-06, Northeastern downed sixth-seeded Stony Brook to advance to the semifinals for just the third time in the school’s CAA tenure.
In addition to Mitchell’s coaching accolade, three Huskies received all-conference recognition this March. Derin Erdogan earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team, Gemima Motema garnered Third Team All-CAA and CAA All-Defensive Team honors and Deja Bristol was named the CAA Sixth Player of the Year.
As a first-year head coach in 2021-22, Mitchell inherited a team that was picked last in the 13-team CAA and finished inside the top half of the conference. Led by First Team All-CAA selection Kendall Currence and CAA Rookie of the Year Claudia Soriano, the Huskies advanced to the Women’s Basketball Invitational for just the second time in program history after ending the regular season with a 14-14 record.
Next Stop
Heading out of state for their only away trip in the opening month of the season, Fordham women’s basketball heads to Florida this weekend for a meeting with Miami Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.