Judging by regular attendance and behavior at Fordham basketball games, athletics seem to be buried on each student’s list of priorities. Football season, which caught the eye of almost every student on campus, is a distant memory at this point, as all of them have likely turned their focus to midterms, spring break and other plans for the upcoming warm weather.
The Fordham women’s basketball team may just change that.
With a 22-7 record, they’ve earned the #3 seed in-conference and play either Duquesne or Rhode Island Friday night in Richmond. After a win over St. Joe’s to close out the regular season, they’re 54th in the RPI rankings, which conceivably puts them on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. With a trip to the Atlantic 10 Finals, their resume for selection will grow stronger, and with a win in Sunday’s final, they would earn an automatic bid. Just three games separate them from that ticket to the big dance.
This team is fun to watch and worth your time, with a fast-paced transition offense and a suffocating, disciplined defense. They feature an exciting scorer and rebounder, despite her 5’ 8” frame, in Erin Rooney and a stat sheet stuffer in Abigail Corning. They also have a microwave from deep in Hannah Missry, a reliable post option in Emily Tapio and a stretch five in Sam Clark to go along with a mix of experience and youth off the bench.
It’s all thanks to Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley, who’s kept this team’s heads on straight after some tough losses this year. After a loss at Hofstra early in the year, she told WFUV that she ripped up the team’s stat sheet in the locker room. The team went on to win its next 12 games.
Gaitley’s gone 47-16 over her past two years at Fordham, where she’s in her third season. Last season, she made her 5th appearance in the WNIT with the Rams, and at the very least, it looks like the Rams will be headed there again this season if they’re not tournament-bound.
In broadcasting at WFUV, I’ve traveled around to different arenas with the women’s team, and I can assure you the rest of the A-10 turns out at women’s games. The Rams may not return home this year, but they at least deserve your support from afar as they head into postseason play. Watch the games or listen online. Tweet about them. Annoy your roommate at the cafeteria about them. They have the chance to gain more national recognition in the coming weeks, and you can say you knew about them before it was cool to know about them.
Athletics should be more of a priority at this school. It goes without saying that fans will come watch a good team (i.e. Football), but they’ll also go for a free t-shirt, as we learned this weekend at the La Salle game. You made the time then, so you can make the time a few more times in the future. It’s fun to show some school pride every once in a while.
— Kenny Ducey
