Nov. 8, 2012

Albany, N.Y. - For the third time in the last four seasons, the Fordham women's basketball team will open its regular season against the Albany Great Danes. This will be Fordham's second ever trip to the SEFCU Arena. The game will feature two of the best team defenses in country from a year ago. Albany ranked 19th in the nation in scoring defense last season at 53.4 points per game, while Fordham was 30th in the country in that same category at 54.4.

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OPENING ACT: Over the previous 42 season openers, the Rams are 19-23, following last year's 59-42 loss to Albany at the Rose Hill Gym. Fordham's last season opening win did come against the Great Danes in the 2009-10 opener, where the Rams prevailed, 76-56.

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Fordham and Albany, with the Rams holding a 2-1 series advantage. This has been a recently created series for Fordham, as the two squads met for the first time in 2009. Albany won last year's meeting, 59-42, in the season opener for both squads. In that game, Fordham's Becky Peters Becky eclipsed 1,000 career points, while Abigail Corning tied a then-career-high 14 points.

SCOUTING ALBANY: The Great Danes finished 23-10 last season with a 14-2 mark in the America East Conference, winning the team's first conference championship and receiving its first NCAA Tournament berth. The team was picked to repeat as champions in this year's preseason coaches' poll, conducted by their league. Albany is coached by Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who begins her third season with the Great Danes.

The Great Danes return seven letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad, led by senior Ebone Henry, who led Albany in scoring (14.3 ppg), assists (87), and steals (91). Albany also returns starters Julie Forster (8.7 ppg) and Lindsey Lowrie (7.2 ppg), who ranked third and fourth on the team in scoring, respectively. Forster also led Albany in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and blocked shots (36).

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: Today's match-up is the first of four games that Fordham will have against fellow Empire State schools. The Rams begin the season with two of these games, taking on Albany and Cornell. Fordham will also see Manhattan (Nov. 28) and Stony Brook (Dec. 8) this season.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Fordham will have a set of tri-captains for the 2012-13 season in the form of graduate student Marah Strickland and juniors Erin Rooney and Abigail Corning.

WHO'S NEXT: Fordham will wrap up its opening weekend of play at Cornell on Sunday, November 11th at 1:00 PM. The Rams then return to the Bronx for their home opener on Sunday, November 18th, when Fordham faces Delaware State at 2:00 PM. The Rams will next be on the road on Wednesday, November 21st, as Fordham has its first Jesuit Basketball Spotlight game against the University of San Francisco at 10:00 PM (ET).