SPORTS EDITOR

“It is more difficult to stay on top than to get there.”

Coming off a historic season in which it went 26-9, reached the Atlantic 10 Championship and played in the Women’s NIT Sweet 16, the Fordham women’s basketball team will put Mia Hamm’s famous quote to the test this year, when it tries to continue its success in the 2013-14 season.

This year’s team will be drastically different from last year’s experience-laden squad. When Arielle Collins, Charlotte Stoddart and Marah Strickland graduated, Fordham lost three players who together accounted for around 30 points per game. That is a little more than half of the team’s average.

Erin Rooney was the first women’s basketball player in Fordham history to receive first team All-Atlantic 10 honors. (Photo by Ally White/The Ram)

A host of new faces, some fresh out of high school and others from various Division I programs across the country, will fill the holes left by past Rams.

The incoming freshman class includes four talented players who will produce immediately for the Rams. Alina Gjerkes, comes to the Bronx all the way from Slovenia, joined a line of international recruits that head coach Stephanie Gaitley is becoming known for attracting. Hannah Missry, a sharpshooter from Jackson, N.J., is going to be important in replacing the points that will be missed from Strickland’s exit. If Missry’s seven three-pointers and 25 points in the exhibition game against Kutztown are any indication, she will be a big part of the offense for this year’s Rams.

The freshman class is rounded off by a pair of Danielles. Danielle Burns of Gainesville, Va. is a 5-foot-10-inch matchup nightmare, which she proved by exploding for 13 points and six rebounds against Kutztown.

Danielle Padovano is a six-foot forward from Dayton, N.J. who is going to add depth to a team that sorely lacked it last year.

“I like all of the freshmen,” Gaitley said. “All of the freshmen will contribute this year.  They all show the ability to come in and give us something. They all have a very strong work ethic, they all have great attitudes and all bring something to the table.”

Along with four new freshmen, Fordham welcomes two transfer students.

Briana Jordan is a guard who joins the team from Tennessee Tech, where she played in 64 games in just two years, averaging 6.4 points per game.

Jordan is joined by Mary Nwachukwu, who is a graduate student coming to Fordham from St. Johns. A 6-foot-2-inch forward, Nwachukwu will add size as well as a “quiet leadership” that Gaitley will count on to help a young team.

While there is plenty of new blood on this year’s squad, Fordham will be led by three players who were central to last year’s success and will be just as essential this year.

Samantha Clark was the new kid on the block last year, but now plans on being a big contributor in the paint this year.  After averaging 8.4 points and 6 rebounds per game last year, Clark showed a lot of improvement this summer, which will show in the winter.

“Sam Clark did a tremendous job this summer,” Gaitley said. “She’s better than last year. I think she’s going to be more confident and more of a significant contributer.”

Junior guard Abigail Corning and senior guard Erin Rooney are this year’s captains. Last year, the two both played 35 minutes per game and were stalwarts on both sides of the ball. Not much is going to change, even with the added depth.

“I don’t see Erin and Abigail coming off the court that much because their endurance is so strong,” Gaitley said. “Those two will get very little breaks because they can handle it, and they give it to you on both ends of the court.”

Even though the roster seems to be stacked with talent, it will not be easy to repeat the most successful season in school history.

“We have to do a lot of little things,” Corning said in response to how the team can maintain their success. “Try to outwork our opponents, play defense like Coach [Gaitley] always stresses and to get our young players ready, so when tough games come up, they’re ready for them.”

Bringing together a completely different group from last year can be challenging, but it’s something that the Rams have to do with all of the added talent they have.

“You just try and be a good leader,” Corning said about bringing the team together. “Just be an extension of the coaching staff. Get across to everybody ‘these are our standards, this is what we’re going to do.’ Relay that and just be there for them. Everybody’s been a freshman, I’ve been there too, so we just have to be there for them.”

Fordham defeated Division II Kutztown University in an exhibition game last Sunday 86-49. The team will officially open up its season on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. when it hosts the University of San Francisco at the Rose Hill Gym.

Categories: Basketball, Sports

Tags: MATT ROSENFELD, Sports