Stephanie Gaitley Named BCANY Coach of the Year

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham women's basketball head coach Stephanie Gaitley can add another piece of hardware for a tremendous 2018-19 campaign as she was named the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Coach of the Year. Gaitley was previously named the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year for a third time earlier this Spring. "I want to thank the BCANY for such a wonderful honor," Gaitley said, "I'm humbled and thankful to be named the BCANY 2019 Coach of the Year. We did some work together last year and I'm also excited to speak at the annual Fall clinic at SUNY Cortland in September. I am also honored to be asked to serve on their board and help them continue to grow our game. I've always admired their commitment to the young men and women in the sport of Basketball." Gaitley oversaw one of the youngest groups in the country this year, leading them to the program's second-ever Atlantic 10 title and a share of its first-ever regular season championship. The Rams' 25 wins were tied for third-most in the program's history, while the squad set a new record with nine straight conference wins and tied the record with a 12-game overall win streak that stretched into and through the Atlantic 10 championship, where Fordham coasted to the title with an average margin of victory of just under 23 points across three games. After starting the year 5-5 the team went on a 20-3 run to finish with a 13-3 record in league play, a new school benchmark for victories, and a first-round bye. Fordham made its third-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament with a trip to #12 Syracuse. The Rams enjoyed their highest-ever finish in the national ranks in several categories, namely finishing the year ninth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 54.4 points per game. Fordham was also seventh in turnovers per game (11.5) and ninth in fouls per game (13.3). The Rams were 37th in assist/turnover ratio (1.14) and sank the 37th-most three-pointers in the nation (267), a new school single-season record. In regard to the former number, five players finished with at least 50 assists on the year and four recorded between 80 and 94.