Women's Basketball to Tangle With Temple Saturday at 2 p.m.

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (3-5) looks to bounce back when the Rams welcome former Atlantic 10 rival Temple (4-4) to the Rose Hill Gym for a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Fans can watch the game online for free on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network or listen for free online on WFUV.
 
SCOUTING TEMPLE: The Owls, who are picked to finish third in the 11-team American Athletic Conference, enter Saturday's contest on a high note after blowing out Sacred Heart, 92-62, Wednesday night. The Owls started the season 2-0 with a home victory over Florida and a 29-point win at Atlantic 10 foe La Salle, before losing three straight at Rutgers (61-51), Quinnipiac (58-56) and at another Atlantic 10 school, Saint Joseph's (70-67). The Owls then snapped the losing streak with a six-point win over Villanova but was then crushed at #13/14 Florida State by 28.
                Junior Feyonda Fitzgerald leads Temple with 18.1 points and 5.1 assists per game, while sophomore Alliha Butts adds 14.1 points per game. Fellow classmate Tanaya Atkinson is the third Owl scoring in double figures at 11.5 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds per game. The top two rebounders are senior Erica Covile and sophomore Donnaizh Fountain. The former averages 6.4 boards per game to go along with 9.4 points per game, and Fountain chips in 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's meeting between the two former Atlantic 10 rivals will be the 31st edition in the series, which dates back to Jan. 27, 1996. The Owls own a commanding 23-7 lead, but the Rams have won the last three, including a 71-64 victory last season at Temple.
 
LAST TIME OUT: It was a tale of two halves Wednesday night for the Rams, who dropped a 66-54 decision to Seton Hall inside Walsh Gymnasium. Fordham led 34-27 at the break and stretched its lead to 39-31 with 7:07 left to go in the third when freshman Lauren Holden drilled a three-pointer from the right wing. But after that, the tides of the game changed, as Seton Hall grabbed control with a 17-2 run over the next five-plus minutes resulting in a 48-41 advantage. Sophomore Aaliyah Jones temporarily stopped the bleeding when she knocked down a three to put the Rams down 48-44 heading into the final quarter.

Fordham, however, would not march any closer, as two quick layups from the Pirates' Shakena Richardson increased the lead back out to eight, before a three from Aleesha Powell set the Rams down even more at 59-46 with exactly six minutes to go. Two free throws from Samantha Clark crept the Rams back to within seven at 61-54 with 2:09 remaining, but it was not nearly enough.

Fordham connected on 12-of-24 field goals in the first half, including a sizzling 6-of-7 from distance, which helped the Rams control the opening 20 minutes. Fordham led the entire first quarter with the exception of a pair of ties at 7-7 and 14-14, and a buzzer-beating three from junior Hannah Missry produced a 17-14 lead after 10 minutes.

Seton Hall scored the first four points of the second stanza to take its first lead of the game at 18-17, but five straight points from Clark triggered a 9-2 spurt that regained the lead at 26-20. After the Pirates crawled back to within two, junior Danielle Padovano knocked down a three, before Missry connected on her third trifecta of the half and a pair of free throws, which produced Fordham's largest lead of the game, 34-25, with a minute remaining before halftime.

Fordham shot only 26.9 percent (7-of-26) in the second half and only 3-of-8 from downtown to finish the game at 38.0 percent (19-of-50) and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from three-point range. The Pirates knocked down 50 percent (15-of-30) over the final 20 minutes to finish at 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and 4-of-15 from three. The biggest difference in the game was turnovers, as the Rams turned it over 20 times compared to just 10 for Seton Hall, who outscored Fordham, 26-10, in points-off-turnovers. The home team also had a commanding 40-14 advantage in points in the paint and won the battle on the glass, 33-29.

Clark paced the Rams with a season-high 19 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds to share honors with sophomore G'mrice Davis. Missry finished with 11 points (all in the first half), and Jones tallied eight points to tie a career best along with a career-high three steals.
 
PADOVANO NOMINATED FOR 2016 ALLSTATE WBCA GOOD WORKS TEAM®: Junior Danielle Padovano was selected as one of 257 total nominees (an all-time high) for the 2016 Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Team®, it was announced Wednesday, Dec. 1 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Allstate Insurance Company. This distinguished award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. Padovano is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). The student-athlete is recognized to be at the heart of the athletics program. The mission of SAAC is to assist in the creation of an environment where all athletes have the opportunity to maximize their academic, personal, and social growth and provide them with tools for a productive and satisfying life during and after college.
 
550: Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley recorded her 550th career victory in the win over Lafayette Nov. 24.
 
1,000-POINT WATCH: Senior Samantha Clark needs 27 points to become the 18th player in program history to record 1,000 points in their career. Clark also recently grabbed her 700th career rebound and now has 717 for her career, which ranks fifth all-time at Fordham. She is coming off a season-high effort of 19 points at Seton Hall.
 
MISSRY GOES OFF: Junior Hannah Missry poured in a career-high 30 points, connected on a career-best 10 field goals, and drilled a career-high eight three-pointers in the win over Delaware State. The 30 points scored were the most by a Ram since Marah Strickland tallied 31 against Saint Joseph's Feb. 24, 2013; the 10 made field goals were the most since Emily Tapio finished with 10 at Davidson Jan. 28, 2015; and the eight triples, which fell one short of the program record, were the most since Daniela Roark hit seven at Morgan State Jan. 5, 2007.
 
MISSRY AT FOURTH: Junior Hannah Missry now has 189 career three's, which contines to rank fourth on the all-time list at Fordham. She now needs 45 more to become the program's all-time leader.
 
MISSRY IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior Hannah Missry ranks sixth in the country in 3-PT FG's made per game (3.50) sixth in total made 3's (28) & 28th in 3-PT FG % (.475).
 
THIRD DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Senior Samantha Clark recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Delaware, which gave her 10 for her career. Sophomor G'mrice Davis then collected her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds versus Delaware State.
 
74: The Rams scored a season-high 74 points in the win over Delaware State.
 
24-OF-25: The Rams assisted on 24 of their 25 buckets in the win over Delaware State. The 24 assists were the most in a game since registering 21 against George Washington Feb. 8, 2014
 
47.7 %: The Rams shot a season-high 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from the field in the loss to #23/RV Syracuse.
 
BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Senior Samantha Clark and sophomore G'mrice Davis each collected double-doubles for the second game in a row after the victory over Lafayette. Clark netted a season-high 15 points and grabbed 10 boards to go along with a season-best three rejections, while Davis added 11 points, 10 boards (to tie a career high) and three steals, giving her eight thefts over the last two contests.
 
DEFENSE DOMINATING: Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Fordham has held its opponents to less than 50 points 24 times resulting in 24 victories. The Rams are 35-4 in such instances under Coach Gaitley and have won 26 straight. This occurred 12 times last season already twice season with the victories over Manhattan and Lafayette.
 
CAREER GAME: Sophomore G'mrice Davis produced the best game of her young career in the win over Manhattan. She tied career highs in points (19), rebounds (10) and field goals made (8) while establishing new career bests in steals (5), assists (3) and minutes played (34). The double-double was the first of her career.
 
SITTING OUT: Fordham has 16 members on its roster this season, but only 12 will see action, as four student-athletes will not suit up. Senior Khadijah Gibson and freshman Kate Kreslina are out for the year with an injury, while junior Tiffany Suarez and sophomore Nicole Floyd transferred in from Virginia and Wake Forest, respectively, and must sit out because of NCAA transfer rules.
 
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Junior Danielle Burns and sophomore Asnate Fomina have teamed up with old friends this year and beyond. Burns is joined by former high school teammate Nicole Floyd, as the duo played at Stonewall Jackson high school in northern Virginia, while Kate Kreslina played with Fomina in Riga, Latvia.
 
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 have a quick turnaround when they head back to the Garden State Monday to take on Princeton in Princeton, N.J. at 7 p.m.