Women's Basketball Hosts Eighth Annual Fordham Holiday Classic Starting Monday

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (7-4) looks to collect its second four-game win streak of the season when it returns from a 15-day hiatus to host Savannah State (4-5) inside the Rose Hill Gym to begin the Eighth Annual Fordham Holiday Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., with Princeton (13-0) and Hartford (5-7) matching up in the second game at 3:30 p.m.

Last Time Out
Freshman G'mrice Davis came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and corral a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Fordham women's basketball team to a 70-41 triumph over Manhattan Sunday afternoon (Dec. 14) inside the Rose Hill Gym in the annual Battle of the Bronx contest.

Fordham found itself down 8-6 at the 13:38 mark of the first half, before four straight points from sophomore Danielle Burns triggered a 16-0 run to put the Rams in front for good, 22-8, with 8:35 left in the opening 20 minutes.

The two sides went back-and-forth until junior Samantha Clark found sophomore Danielle Padovano for an old-fashion three-point play with exactly one-tenth of a second remaining, which increased Fordham's advantage to 34-18 at halftime.

The Rams knocked down 54.2 percent (13-of-24) of their shots in the first half and held the Jaspers to just 30 percent (9-of-30).

Fordham kept up its play on both sides of the ball in the second half and were never threated, as it outscored Manhattan, 36-23, over the final 20 minutes, with the Rams' bench netting 25 points. Davis scored 13 of her points in the second stanza and knocked down 6-of-8 shots from the field.

The home team finished the game shooting 48.3 percent (28-of-58) despite only making 4-of-18 from behind the arc while assisting on a season-best 19 buckets. Defensively, Fordham posted a season best in field goal percentage allowed (26.7 percent, 16-of-60) and limited the Jaspers to 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) from distance, which is also a season best. The Rams won the battle on the glass, 47-33, and the bench outscored Manhattan's, 45-22.

Senior Emily Tapio added 10 points for Fordham, while junior Khadijah Gibson added a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Padovano and Clark each chipped in seven points, with Clark pulling down eight rebounds. Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin handed out a game-best six assists.

Savannah State
2014 Season: 4-5
When: Monday, Dec. 29 - 1 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
Series History: First Meeting
What You Need To Know: The Tigers, who are picked to finish third in the 13-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), come to the Bronx on a four-game losing streak, which includes losses at #1 South Carolina, Auburn and Florida State, but they did beat Florida, 68-58, nearly four weeks ago in Savannah, Ga., which was their last win and at the time improved their record to 4-1. MEAC Preseason Player of the Year Ezinne Kalu leads the team scoring (18.4 points per game), assists (29) and steals (30) while grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting 48.5 percent (64-of-132) from the field over an average of 36.2 minutes per game. Jasmine Norman adds 11.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while chipping in 23 steals. Tiyonda Davis paces the Tigers on the glass with 6.1 rebounds per game to go along with 8.3 points per game and a team-best 16 blocks. Kenyata Hendrix chips in 9.0 points per game and has knocked down a team-leading 16 three's (on 64 attempts).

Up Next
The Rams will take on either Princeton or Hartford this Tuesday, Dec. 30 to conclude the Fordham Holiday Classic. If the Rams defeat Savannah State, they will play at 3:30 p.m., but if they lose, they will play at 1 p.m. The defending Atlantic 10 champions then open conference play Sunday, Jan. 4 at 3:30 p.m. with a nationally-televised contest on CBS Sports Network against Richmond.