Women's Basketball Heads to Saint Louis Saturday

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (14-5, 6-0 A10) looks to extend its already season-high win streak to seven games Saturday afternoon when the Rams travel to St. Louis, Mo. to take on Saint Louis (9-10, 2-4 A10) in an Atlantic 10 matchup inside Chaifetz Arena. The contest will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff slated for 4 p.m. EST. An audio broadcast will also take place on WFUVSports.org.

Last Time Out
Propelled by hot shooting and staunch defensive play in the first half, the Fordham women's basketball team was never threatened in a 65-42 triumph over Massachusetts inside the Rose Hill Gym Wednesday (1/21) on Kids Day.       

Fordham established season highs in points (40) and shooting percentage (64.0 percent) in the first half to help build a 40-17 lead at the break. The Rams converted 16-of-25 from the field, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. They also shutdown UMass on the defensive end by limiting the Minutewomen to only 25.9 percent (7-of-27) shooting.

UMass scored the first two points of contest, before Fordham took complete control with a 20-4 run that put the Rams in front 20-6 eight minutes in. The home team then finished the stanza strong with an 11-2 spurt over the final 4:40 to take their largest lead of the game up to that point.

The first 13 minutes of the second half were played in the complete opposite direction for Fordham. The Rams connected on only three of their first 15 shots and turned the ball over six times, while UMass shot 9-of-15 and made all three of its three-point attempts, which allowed the visitors to cut the Fordham advantage to 52-39.

But the Rams responded and held the Minutewomen scoreless over the next seven minutes, pumped their lead out to 63-39, and finished the game by scoring 13 of the final 16 points.

Fordham finished the contest shooting 48.9 percent (23-of-47) and swished 6-of-14 from distance while knocking down 13-of-16 from the charity stripe. UMass shot 33.3 percent (17-of-51), connected on 4-of-7 from downtown but made only 4-of-12 from the free throw line. The Rams also won the rebounding battle, 34-29, and recorded a season-high 11 steals.

Freshman G'mrice Davis scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half to pace the Fordham scoring. Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin manufactured her first career double-double with 12 points (8-of-8 FT) and a career-high 12 boards to go along with four assists and three steals. Sophomore Hannah Missry knocked down her first three attempts from behind the arc, where she finished 4-of-7 to score 12 points.

Saint Louis
2014-15 Season: 9-10 (2-4 A10)
When: Saturday, Jan. 24 - 4 p.m. EST
Where: St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
Series History: Fordham leads 6-5 (since Feb. 26, 2006)
Last Meeting: Feb. 5, 2014 - Fordham 56 Saint Louis 45 (in St. Louis, Mo.)
What You Need To Know: The Billikens, who were picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic 10 this season, have started out conference play 2-4 and sit in a ninth-place tie in the conference standings. They are coming off a 76-47 victory at La Salle (1/21), which snapped a three-game losing streak that saw a home loss to VCU (59-54), a road loss at Duquesne (77-64) and a home loss to Davidson (53-50). Saint Louis started conference play with a road loss at George Mason (66-57), before bouncing back with a road victory at Massachusetts (75-67). Sadie Stipanovich paces the Saint Louis offense with 14 points per game. Stipanovich is followed by Jackie Kemph (9.2 ppg), Jamesia Price and Denisha Womack (7.7 ppg), Olivia Jakubicek (6.7 ppg), Erin Nelson (6.6 ppg) and Jenny Vliet (6.2 ppg). Stipanovich is atop the rebounding chart with 6.4 boards per game, Womack (5.5 rpg) is second and Jakubicek (5.1 rpg) ranks third. Kemph averages a team-high 5.7 assists. Other leaders are Nelson (25 3-pointers), Stipanovich (50.7 percent on 102-of-201 field goal shooting), Stipanovich (77.5 percent on 62-of-80 free throw shooting), Price (1.6 steals per game) and Stipanovich (2.2 offensive rebounds per game).

Up Next
The Rams continue their road trip when they travel to Davidson, N.C. this Wednesday, Jan. 28 for a conference contest at Davidson, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m.