Women's Basketball to Host Richmond in Nationally-Televised Conference Opener

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (8-5, 0-0 A10) begins its 20th season of Atlantic 10 play Sunday when it welcomes Richmond (8-4, 0-0 A10) to the Rose Hill Gym for a nationally-televised contest on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff slated for 3:30 p.m. An audio broadcast will also take place on WFUVSports.org.

Last Time Out
The Rams could not muster enough offense Tuesday (Dec. 30), as they fell to undefeated Princeton, 67-53, in the Fordham Holiday Classic final inside the Rose Hill Gym.

The Rams used its signature defense and scoring from four different players to jump out to a 10-6 lead at the 13:34 mark of the first half. But their lead quickly evaporated, as Princeton scored the next 10 points to start a 23-5 run, which lasted for 10:37 and gave the visitors a 29-15 lead with a shade under three minutes remaining in the opening stanza, before heading into the locker room leading 31-18.

Fordham played well defensively in the first half, holding one of the top shooting teams in the nation to 39.3 percent (11-of-28) while forcing nine turnovers. But the Rams struggled on offense, shooting only 25.0 percent (7-of-28) and were outrebounded, 26-14, including 7-3 on the offensive glass, which allowed five extra second-chance points for the Tigers. Princeton also outscored Fordham, 7-0, on fast-break opportunities, which was one of the Tigers' biggest strengths coming in.

The Rams still trailed by 13 nearly five minutes into the second half, before graduate student Tiffany Ruffin knocked down a jump shot to start a string of seven unanswered points, with the final five scored by freshman G'mrice Davis, as her bucket at the 14:18 mark trimmed the Princeton lead to 37-31.

However, the Tigers responded to Fordham's punch with an 8-2 flurry to stretch their lead back to 12 at 45-33 with 10 minutes left in the game. Senior Emily Tapio scored back-to-back layups for the home team to slice the deficit back to under double digits, but Princeton once again answered with 13 of the next 15 points to take its largest lead of the game, 58-39, with 4:11 to go and cruised to the victory.

The Rams shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the second half but turned the ball over seven times while forcing the Tigers into only four. Fordham finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field and held Princeton to one of its lowest percentages of the season at 40.7 percent (24-of-59). The Tigers, who came into the game as the top three-point shooting team in the nation, knocked down 6-of-15, while the Rams connected on only 2-of-7, which proved to be one of the differences in the game.

Princeton also used its size to outrebound Fordham, 42-29, including 13-4 on the offensive glass to earn an 11-2 advantage in second-chance points. The Tigers finished the game outscoring the Rams, 11-0, on fast-break chances.

Davis came off the bench to lead all scorers with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in just 18 minutes of action. Ruffin played all 40 minutes and constructed another solid all-around game with 14 points to tie a career high, five rebounds and a team-best five assists to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Tapio, who battled foul trouble all game, chipped in 12 points, while junior Samantha Clark corralled a team-high nine rebounds and rejected a game-high three blocks.

Richmond
2014-15 Season: 8-4 (0-0 A10)
When: Sunday, Jan. 4 - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Bronx, N.Y. (Rose Hill Gym)
Series History: Richmond leads 12-3 (since Nov. 25, 1988)
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2014 - Richmond 78 Fordham 77 (2OT) (in Richmond, Va.)
What You Need To Know: The Spiders, who are picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 this season, are coming off a thrilling 71-65 overtime victory this past Tuesday (12/30) at UAB for its fifth-straight win this season and fourth-straight on the road. Richmond is currently on its longest road swing of the season, as Fordham is the fifth-straight contest in an 18-day span. The Spiders are shooting 42 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from behind the arc. Janelle Hubbard leads three Spiders with 13.3 points per game, while Lauren Tolson adds 12.5 points per game. Genevieve Okoro chips in 10.1 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game, while Kylie Murphree paces the Spiders with team bests of 27 assists and 19 steals. Also, Ram head coach Stephanie Gaitley began her coaching career at Richmond and coached the Spiders for six seasons beginning in 1985-86. She finished her career at Richmond with an overall record of 116-63, before leaving after the 1990-91 season to become the head coach at Saint Joseph's. Gaitley led Richmond to a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles and NCAA Tournament appearances during her final two years.

Up Next
The Rams return to the road to continue conference play with games at La Salle this Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. and next Sunday, Jan. 11 for a 4:00 p.m. date with St. Bonaventure on NBC Sports Network.