Richmond, Va. – At the 2017 Atlantic 10 women's basketball media day in Richmond on Monday, it was announced that Fordham has been picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches' poll and that senior forward
G'mrice Davis is predicted to duplicate her end-of-season accolades from a year ago as she was named Preseason First Team All-Conference and an All-Defensive team selection.
"I'm not one who reads too much into preseason rankings," Head coach
Stephanie Gaitley said, "Right now they see us as a middle of the pack team. I consider that mediocre. I don't think anyone wants to be mediocre, so we have some work to do to change the final outcome."
The Rams are predicted by the league's head coaches to finish fifth, garnering 150 total points. Dayton, getting eight first-place votes, has been predicted to repeat as league champions, with 182 points, just ahead of Saint Louis, with 174 points and three first-place votes, and Saint Joseph's, with 170 and three first-place votes. Duquesne, with 160 points, rounds out the top-five in fourth with 160 points.
George Washington (116), La Salle (114), George Mason (79), and Richmond (78) were teams 6-9, followed by Massachusetts (73), VCU (56), St. Bonaventure (50), Rhode Island (46), and Davidson (22).
Fordham finished fifth a year ago with an 11-5 record. The Rams defeated Davidson in the opening round of the A-10 Championship at home, as per the new format, before falling in the quarterfinals to Saint Louis. The team was invited to its third WNIT appearance in the past four years and reached the second round, rallying to beat Georgetown on the road before falling at Penn State.
Davis was instrumental throughout, playing in all 34 contests and becoming just the second Ram to ever average a double-double over the course of a season. Davis was a fixture atop the Division I rebounding categories, finishing second in total rebounds (436), boards per game (12.8), defensive rebounds (10.0), and double-doubles (24), while also tallying the fourth-highest rebounding total in a single season at Fordham. She was promptly voted First Team All-Conference as well as to the All-Defensive team, becoming just the second player, after Erin Rooney '14, to earn First Team honors since Fordham joined the Atlantic 10.
"G has worked hard both on and off the court to be the best she can be," Gaitley added, "She had an outstanding junior year, and, as we all know, it's hard to sustain success and take it to the next level. I believe in her and feel that our team accomplishments this year will directly reflect G's impact."
Davis enters her senior season 22
nd all-time at Fordham with 970 points, on pace to become the 20
th player to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and 770 rebounds, already fifth-most in school history; her 8.3 rebounding rate is also more than all but two Rams since 1970.
The Rams open the 2017-18 campaign on Friday, November 10 against UMBC at 5 p.m.
