Women's Basketball at #1 Notre Dame Monday Night in Preseason WNIT

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (1-0) picked up its first win of the season on Friday night against Furman in the first round of the Preseason WNIT and now head out to South Bend, Ind. to take on the number one team in the country, Notre Dame (1-0), on Monday night with a trip to the semifinals on the line.
 
There will be 66 years of combined coaching experience at the Purcell Pavilion and 1,384 combined wins between Fordham's Stephanie Gaitley and Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw. McGraw has been with the Fighting Irish since 1987, after spending her first five seasons as the head coach at Lehigh.
 
Last Time Out
Fordham was stout defensively in the first and fourth periods and used a 23-point third quarter to defeat Furman, 60-47, in the Bronx on Friday night. Each Rams starter scored one basket apiece to begin the 2016-17 campaign, starting with a midrange jumper by G'mrice Davis and followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Lauren Holden and Hannah Missry. Danielle Burns followed with a jumper and Kate Kreslina eased in a layup to put Fordham up, 12-2, midway through the first period. The remaining five minutes were sluggish and the only points scored came from a Furman triple. The Paladins outscored the hosts, 17-14, in the second quarter but Fordham still led at the break by four. Holden kicked off the second half with a bang, by nailing a corner three, and the Rams raced away with their 23-point outburst. Furman did make things interesting in the fourth by cutting the deficit down to six with seven minutes to play but the Rams turned up the defensive pressure, not allowing a single Furman field goal the rest of the way. Burns and Holden both finished with 12 points, the latter with an efficient 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-for-5 from deep, while Kreslina wrapped up her debut with 10 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Davis struggled with foul trouble a bit but still finished with eight points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.  
 
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
The Fordham Rams were selected to finish sixth in the annual preseason coaches' poll, announced at A-10 Media Day, held in Richmond, Va., the site of the 2017 A-10 Championship. The Rams finished last season tied for sixth, with an 8-8 conference record, and reached the second round of the conference postseason. Saint Louis, who tied for last year's regular season title and reached the third round of the WNIT, garnered nine first-place votes. Dayton and last year's runner-up Duquesne tied for second in the poll with 166 points apiece, with the latter receiving three first-place votes. Two-time defending champion, George Washington, gathered the remaining two first-place votes and is predicted to finish fourth. Following the Colonials are VCU, Fordham, Richmond, and Saint Joseph's to round out the top eight. Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, George Mason, La Salle, Davidson, and Massachusetts rounded out the preseason rankings, respectively.
 
2015-16 Season Review
The Rams finished last season 14-17 and 8-8 in conference play, defeating Massachusetts in overtime in the first round of the A-10 Championship but falling to eventual runner-up Duquesne in the next round. New Director of Player Development Samantha Clark was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as well as to the All-Defensive Team after a fantastic senior campaign where she led the squad with 12.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, also chipping in a team-high 36 blocks and 30 steals. Clark led the A-10 in minutes played per contest (37.2). Fordham will return the other four starters from last season, with three of them averaging between nine and 10 points per game. Junior G'mrice Davis tallied 9.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per contests with 10 blocks and 21 steals during a solid sophomore season, while Danielle Burns scored 9.6 points per game on 39.8% shooting from the field and led the team with 76 assists. Hannah Missry continued her volume three-point shooting and set the school record for most career long-range makes as a junior, finishing the year with 239. She has averaged 79 threes over her three seasons but will need 100 to break the A-10 career record. Sophomore Lauren Holden solidified her spot as the team's starting point guard as a freshman by averaging 6.3 points per game with 55 assists and 35% shooting from deep, good for third-best on the team. Danielle Padovano and Asnate Fomina were both vital cogs in the rotation off the bench, scoring 4.5 and 4.1 points per game, respectively, while also joining the starting lineup a combined 16 times last season.
 
New Faces
There are six players new to the Fordham program and three of them made their debuts on Friday. Kate Kreslinda, who redshirted last year, entered the starting lineup and played a team-high 35 minutes while tallying 10 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore transfer Mary Goulding and freshman Anna Kelly came off the bench and totaled four and seven points, respectively. Transfers Nicole Floyd and Tiffany Suarez are currently out with injury, while freshman Breanna Cavanaugh is also out.
 
History vs. Ranked Opponents
This is the first time Fordham has ever played the top team in the country, according to the Associated Press poll. Fordham has twice played top-five teams and another two meetings against teams ranked 6-10. The Rams have never won a game against a ranked opponent, holding an 0-15 record all-time since a 2001-02 meeting with #5 Stanford.
 
Series History
Fordham and Notre Dame have played each other just once, in 2000-01. The Rams, under then head coach Jim Lewis, traveled to South Bend in the third game of their season and lost, 89-44, nearly 16 years to the day.
 
Scouting the Fighting Irish
Notre Dame is the #1 team in the country. Head coach Muffet McGraw has eight McDonald's All-Americans and is returning much of the team that went 32-2 and 15-0 in the ACC last year, including reigning ACC Player and Defender of the Year Brianna Turner, a preseason All-American team selection. Turner averaged 14.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last year as the team won its third consecutive ACC regular season and tournament championships. Turner is the only Division I player to rank in the top 10 in the nation for field goal percentage in each of the last two years, and led the ACC last year in field goal percentage (59.3) and blocks per game (3.03). Senior point guard and captain Lindsay Allen has been named to the watchlist of the annual Nancy Lieberman Award, handed out to the nation's top point guard. Allen has been a finalist the last two seasons. Allen was an honorable mention All-America selection after dishing out 5.8 assists per game with a 2.52 assist/turnover ratio, also leading her conference in assists for the second straight season. Allen also has a current school-record long streak of 113 consecutive starts and hasn't missed a game now in her fourth season.
 
Notre Dame defeated Central Michigan, 107-47, in the WNIT opening round, with sophomore Arike Ogunbowale leading the way with 30 points on 12-of-13 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 from deep, in just 23 minutes. Turner had 12 points and three rebounds, while Allen finished with 13 points, eight assists, and four steals in just 19 minutes. Marina Mabrey came off the bench for 17 points and five assists.
 
The Irish have five players in the WNBA this season: Skylar Diggins, Natalie Achonwa, Kayla McBride, Devereaux Peters, and Jewell Loyd.
 
Fordham WBB Ticket Plans
Two women's ticket options are available:
Flex Plan: $35 for 15 tickets
Community Partner: $100 for 50 tickets
 
With the flex plan option, fans receive 15 ticket vouchers good for use at any Fordham women's basketball game, plus a special Fordham scarf. As a community partner, you also have the opportunity to provide 50 tickets to a group of your choice.

The Rams have nine remaining out-of-conference match-ups within the Rose Hill Gym and seven in Atlantic 10 play, including one nationally televised home contest – the home season finale against Dayton on February 19.
 
Up Next
Fordham's next opponent is to be determined. The date, time, and location are also not yet decided but the game will be played this Friday or Saturday. If Fordham wins, they will be in the semifinals. If they lose, they will be grouped with other teams that fell in the second round and the Rams will play a one-off either at home or at another campus. Keep up to date on FordhamSports.com and with @FordhamWBB updates on Twitter.