Women's Basketball Tips Off Its Season Sunday at Penn State

Live Video (Pay) | Live Audio (Free) | Live Stats
Twitter Updates @FordhamWBB | Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Fordham women's basketball team opens its 2015-16 season Sunday at Penn State (1-0) inside the Bryce Jordan Center, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. Fans can watch the game online on BTN2Go with a subscription or listen for free online on WFUV.

SCOUTING PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions started their season Friday with an 86-82 overtime victory against Holy Cross at home. Junior Peyton Whitted poured in 22 points grabbed 11 rebounds, while Brianna Banks added 20 points. Freshman Teniya Page chipped in 15 points and dished out seven assists. Penn State is coming off a 6-24 season but brings in a top-10 recruiting class.

SERIES HISTORY: The two sides have only met only twice, with the first time coming in Fordham's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Penn State, who was a #1 seed, defeated the Rams, 91-41, March, 16, 1994. The last meeting was Nov. 10, 2013, and the Rams lost, 78-61, inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

LAST TIME OUT: The Rams took care of Caldwell, 88-59, in an exhibition game last Sunday inside the Rose Hill Gym. Fordham led by eight after the first quarter, before outscoring the Cougars by 15 in the second stanza to go into halftime leading 41-18. Caldwell then outscored Fordham by five in the third quarter, but the Rams closed the game out strong by tallying 29 points over the final 10 minutes. Sophomore G'mrice Davis had a huge day in the paint, as she recorded a double-double with game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds. She connected on 11-of-13 field goals from the field and registered a block and two steals on the defensive side of the ball. Senior Samantha Clark also collected a double-double with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 11 boards while adding a game-high two blocks. Junior Hannah Missry knocked down 4-of-6 from behind the arc en route to 14 points to go along with five boards and three assists, while sophomore Aaliyah Jones chipped in 10 points and dished out a game-high six assists. Junior Danielle Burns constructed a solid all-around game with seven points, five boards, five assists and a game-high three steals to share those honors with freshman Lauren Holden. Fordham shot lights out from the field, finishing the contest at 56.9 percent (33-of-58), including 9-of-21 from three-point range. They were also very unselfish on the offensive end by assisting on 23 of their 33 made baskets.  The Rams also won the rebounding battle, 45-31, and recorded 10 steals.

SEASON OPENERS: The Rams last won a season opener two years ago when they defeated San Francisco, 80-66, inside the Rose Hill Gym. They are 2-2 in openers under head coach Stephanie Gaitley and 21-24 overall in 45 seasons.

POSTSEASON FOR THIRD STRAIGHT SEASON: The Rams participated in the postseason for the third straight year and in the WNIT for the second time in school history. Fordham finished 2-1 in the 2013 WNIT when they defeated both Army (55-46) and Boston University (58-44) at home, before falling at James Madison (77-61) in the round of 16 to conclude the season at 26-9. In 2014, the Rams played in their second-ever NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to California, 64-63, in Waco, Texas. Last season marked Fordham's fourth postseason appearance (lost in 1994 NCAA Tournament to Penn State).

CLASS OF 2015: Last year's senior class cemented its mark in Rose Hill history. The 84 wins over the last four years were the third-most in program history, trailing only the Class of 1980 (91 wins) and the Class of 1979 (85 wins). This year's senior class needs 20 wins to become the all-time winningest class in program history.

20 WINS: For the third straight season, the Rams won at least 20 games to give them eight in the program's history. The last and only time a Fordham group won at least 20 games in three straight seasons was 1977-78 (25-8), 1978-79 (27-7) and 1979-80 (20-14).

ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL: The Fordham women's basketball team has been selected to finish fourth in the annual Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball preseason poll, it was announced Wednesday, Oct. 28 by the league at its annual Media Day, held at the Richmond Marriott. For the second year in a row, senior Samantha Clark was selected to the Preseason All-Conference Third Team. The Neptune, N.J. native is coming off a season where she averaged 8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The rebounding average ranked seventh in the conference, while the rejection rate ranked 12th overall. Defending league champion George Washington garnered 12 out of 14 first-place votes to be tabbed as the preseason favorite. Right behind was 2015 runner up and Elite Eight finalist Dayton, who earned two first-place nods. Rounding out the top four was Duquesne and the Rams.
Saint Louis, Richmond and Saint Joseph's were selected five-through-seven, respectively, to round out the top half, while Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and VCU completed the top 10 in slots eight, nine and 10. Rounding out the order of finish in spots 11-14 was George Mason, La Salle, Massachusetts and Davidson.
 
SEASON TICKETS: The Fordham women's basketball team's season tickets for the 2015-2016 season are now on sale. Order yours by calling the Fordham Ticket Office at 855-RAM-TIXX (855-726-8497) or order online at FordhamSports.com. Season tickets include admission to all 15 home games at the Rose Hill Gym, and ticket holders would receive priority access to any postseason games.
 
UP NEXT: The Rams return to the Bronx this Wednesday, Nov. 18 when it travels to Riverdale to take on Manhattan at 7 p.m. in the annual "Battle of the Bronx".