Women's Basketball at VCU Wednesday Night in the "Battle of the Rams"

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The fifth-place Fordham women's basketball team (8-11, 3-3 A10) looks to bounce back in Atlantic 10 play Wednesday night when the Rams travel to Richmond, Va. to take on seventh-place VCU (14-6, 3-4 A10) inside Verizon Wireless Arena at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game online for free on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network or listen to the game for free online on WFUV.
 
SCOUTING VCU: The Rams, who were picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic 10, currently sit in a four-way tie for seventh place in the conference standings after collecting a 53-42 home win over Richmond Monday night, which snapped a two-game losing streak that saw a home loss to Davidson (56-50) and a road loss at George Mason (70-54). VCU started out league play with a 74-66 victory at Massachusetts, before losing two straight at home to Saint Louis (77-72) and Saint Joseph's (66-63). The Rams then snapped their mini skid with a 74-72 victory at Dayton. Adaeze Alaeze leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while also pacing the squad in blocks with 13. Isis Thorpe adds 10.4 points per game and is the Rams' top three-point threat at 32.1 percent (35-of-109), and Keira Robinson is the leader in assists (83) and steals (39) to go along with 7.6 points per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Wednesday's meeting will be the fourth in the series, which began in 2013, with Fordham taking the first three contests. Fordham won inside Rose Hill Gym, 71-41, in 2013 before squeaking out a 76-73 victory in the return trip to Richmond, Va. in 2014. Last season, Fordham won the only matchup, 60-51, in the Bronx.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Rams were defeated by Davidson, 69-51, last Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 action inside Belk Arena. Cold shooting doomed Fordham, who shot only 30.6 percent (19-of-16) from the field and 23.7 percent (9-of-38) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Davidson finished at 47.3 percent (26-of-55), knocked down 5-of-9 from behind the arc and controlled the glass, 47-30.
The Rams led 5-2 early on and trailed by a score of 13-11 after the first quarter. The home team started heating up in the second and outscored Fordham, 18-12, in the second stanza for a 31-23 halftime advantage. Freshman Lauren Holden knocked down a three to start the third quarter to climb the Rams back to within five at 31-26, but it was the closest they would come, as Davidson responded with the next six, before outscoring Fordham by four in the quarter to lead 50-38 after 30 minutes of action and eventually cruising to the 18-point victory.
Holden placed the Rams with 14 points and five rebounds to tie season highs in both categories while dishing out three assists in a season-best 38 minutes. Senior Samantha Clark added 10 points, four rebounds and team highs of four assists and two steals, and junior Danielle Burns pulled down a team-best six rebounds to go along with seven points and two steals.
 
PADOVANO NOMINATED FOR 2016 ALLSTATE WBCA GOOD WORKS TEAM®: Junior Danielle Padovano was selected as one of 257 total nominees (an all-time high) for the 2016 Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Team®, it was announced Wednesday, Dec. 1 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Allstate Insurance Company. This distinguished award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. Padovano is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). The student-athlete is recognized to be at the heart of the athletics program. The mission of SAAC is to assist in the creation of an environment where all athletes have the opportunity to maximize their academic, personal, and social growth and provide them with tools for a productive and satisfying life during and after college.
 
550: Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley recorded her 550th career victory in the win over Lafayette Nov. 24.
 
1,000-POINT CLUB: Senior Samantha Clark became the 18th player in program history to score 1,000 points with her third-quarter layup with 30 seconds remaining in the stanza. She now has 1,112 career points and is the 15th player in program history to score 1,100 points. Clark also recently grabbed her 800th career rebound in the win over George Mason and now has 819 for her career, which ranks third all-time at Fordham.
 
MISSRY AT SECOND: Junior Hannah Missry now has 215 career three's, which now ranks second on the all-time list at Fordham. She now needs 19 more to become the program's all-time leader.
 
DEFENSE DOMINATING: Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Fordham has held its opponents to less than 50 points 28 times resulting in 28 victories. The Rams are 38-4 in such instances under Coach Gaitley and have won 29 straight. This occurred 12 times last season and five times season with the victories over Manhattan, Lafayette, Central Connecticut, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, Davidson and Saint Joseph's
 
SPEAKING OF DEFENSE: The Rams had been locking teams down defensively over the last 10 games prior to Davidson last time out, allowing only 50.6 points per game, including a season-best 40 points to Davidson and Saint Joseph's, the lowest such point total since Fordham yielded 36 in a 36-point victory at Central Connecticut Dec. 9, 2014. Over the 10-game stretch, the Rams have only allowed 57 points or less in each contest. Nationally, the Rams rank 38th in scoring defense (56.1).
 
CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS: The Rams are one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, as they are ranked #58 with a percentage of 72.9 percent.
 
CLARK IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Senior Samantha Clark ranks 46th in minutes played (691:00), 38th in double-doubles (eight), 31st in minutes played per game (36.37), 62nd in total rebounds (170) and 73rd in rebounds per game (8.9).
 
MISSRY IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior Hannah Missry ranks 22nd in the country in 3-PT FG's made per game (2.8), 15th in total made 3's (54) and 92nd in three-point field goal percentage (.370). Missry is also 101st in the nation in minutes played (660:00) and 102nd in minutes played per game (34.74).
 
HOLDEN LONE BRIGHT SPOT AT DAVIDSON: Freshman Lauren Holden paced the Rams with 14 points to tie a season high while tying a season best in rebounds with five and logging a season-high 38 minutes in her third consecutive start.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The Rams turned the ball over a season-low eight times at Davidson, their lowest such output when they only coughed it up nine times in a win at George Mason Feb. 25, 2015.
 
UP NEXT: The Rams return to the friendly confines of the Rose Hill Gym this Saturday, Jan. 30 when they welcome Rhode Island for a 2 p.m. contest. Women's basketball Alumni Day is also slated to take place as well.