Women's Basketball to Duel Delaware Thursday Evening

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (2-3) looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it returns to the Rose Hill Gym to welcome Delaware (3-2) for a 7 p.m. contest Thursday. Fans can watch the game online on the Atlantic 10 Network for free or listen for free online on WFUV.

SCOUTING DELAWARE: The Blue Hens, who are picked to finish fifth in the 10-team Colonial Athletic Association, are coming off a 62-50 victory Sunday over North Dakota State at the San Diego State Thanksgiving Classic, where they also lost to Wisconsin, 54-52. Delaware started the year with a home victory over Lafayette (who Fordham beat last week by 12), 67-47, and a road win at Marist, 56-50, before losing at home by 10 to East Carolina, 68-58. The Blue Hens are led in scoring by junior guard Erika Brown at 16.0 points per game. The Second Team All-CAA Preseason selection is shooting 45.1 percent from the field and dishes out a team-best 3.2 assists per game. Courtni Green (9.8), Nicole Enabosi (9.8) and Hannah Jardine (9.4) all average just a shade under 10.0 points per game, with Enabosi pulling down a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game and recording a team-best 2.0 steals per game. Jardine is shooting a team-high 52.9 percent from the field, including 11-of-21 from three-point range while adding 4.8 boards per contest.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday's meeting between the two sides will be the fifth all-time in the series, which dates back to Dec. 29, 1988 when the Rams came away with an 82-66 victory at Villanova's Wildcat/Havoline Christmas Classic. Fordham tied the series at 2-2 last season when it won at Delaware, 49-44, Nov. 25, 2014. The other two meetings occurred Dec. 7, 2005 when the Rams lost, 60-56, inside the Rose Hill Gym, and Dec. 22, 2006 when Delaware won at home, 66-42.
 
LAST TIME OUT: TThe Rams lost both of its games at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout over the weekend in Las Vegas, Nev. In both contests, Fordham was in the game in the fourth quarter, before Texas Tech scored the final 14 points to claim a 62-48 victory, and #23/RV Syracuse used a 16-0 run to start the final 10 minutes in a 76-54 triumph. Against the Lady Raiders, junior Danielle Burns led the Rams with 10 points and a game-high three steals, which tied a career high, while sophomore Asnate Fomina added nine points, five rebounds to tie a career high and a team-best two assists. Sophomore G'mrice Davis grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, and senior Samantha Clark corralled eight before fouling out.In Saturday's contest with the Orange, Junior Hannah Missry, Davis and freshman Lauren Holden all scored 12 points to lead Fordham. Both Missry and Holden finished a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, and Davis grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
 
RAM LEGEND IN 20TH SEASON AS DELAWARE ASSISTANT COACH: Delaware assistant coach Jeanine "J.J." Radice earned her bachelor's degree (1989) and master's degrees (1990) from Fordham, where she ranks second on the all-time leading scoring list with 2,417 career points and ranks second all-time with 929 field goals made and 521 free throws. She also holds the Fordham career records for scoring average (21.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.475) and ranks third in free throw percentage (.851). Radice also holds three single-season records: points (686 in 1988-89), points per game (24.8 in 1987-88) and free throw percentage (89.8 in 1988-89). She has also scored the second and sixth most points in single-season history, holds the top three scoring averages, the second-highest three-point field goal percentage, the second and third most free throws and the fourth-highest free throw percentage.

A three-time first team selection to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team, Radice was chosen as the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 1985 and the Player of the Year in 1989. She still holds the Fordham record for most points scored in a game with 40, which occurred against Drexel Dec. 5, 1987, with the 28-year anniversary happening this Saturday.Radice was named Fordham's Outstanding Female Athlete three times during her career and was inducted into the Fordham Hall of Fame in 1995.  In addition to starring on the basketball court, Radice was a standout for the Fordham cross country team.

In March 2014, Radice was honored for her time at Fordham as an Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Legend.  Although Fordham was a member of the MAAC during Radice's career, the A-10 Legends group consists of former student-athletes and coaches who played or coached basketball at current A-10 member institutions.  Current A-10 commissioner and former Georgia Tech head coach Bernadette McGlade once described Radice as, "one of the most outstanding perimeter shooters we've had the opportunity to see, especially shooting the ball on the move."
 
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 75 points to become the 18th player in program history to record 1,000 points in their career.
 
MISSRY MOVES TO FOURTH: With her 4-for-4 effort from three-point range against #23/RV Syracuse, junior Hannah Missry now has
 
THREE-POINT BARRAGE: The Rams knocked down a season-high 10 trey balls (out of 20) against #23/RV Syracuse, the most Fordham has made since exactly one year before, Nov. 28, 2014, when the Rams connected on 11 against Incarnate Word. Both freshman Lauren Holden and junior Hannah Missry finished 4-for-4 from distance.
 
HOLDEN COMING ON: Freshman Lauren Holden netted a season-high 12 points last time out against Syracuse. After going scoreless the first two games, Holden also scored seven ponits against both Lafayette and Texas Tech. She is averaging 8.7 points per game over her last three contests and leads the Atlantic 10 in three-point shooting at 54.5 percent (5-of-6).
 
PADOVANO CRACKS STARTING LINEUP: For the second time in her career, junior Danielle Padovano had her name written into the starting lineup when she earned the start against #23/RV Syracuse. The only other time Padovano was in the starting lineup was when she also started against nationally-ranked Syracuse Nov. 16, 2014 in a 17-point loss to the Orange in Syracuse, N.Y. in the Rams' second game of the season.
 
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.
 
SOMETHING ABOUT THE SECOND GAME: As noted above, sophomore G'mrice Davis tied her career high in rebounds with 10 against Manhattan. Davis also grabbed 10 rebounds in the second game of last season at nationally-ranked Syracuse.
 
CLARK COLLECTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE: With her 10-point, 12-rebound effort, senior Samantha Clark collected her first double-double of the season and the eighth of her career.
 
FOMINA FACILITATING: For the second game in a row, sophomore Asnate Fomina established a new career high in assists. Her six dimes against the Jaspers set a new career best, which broke her previous high of five, which she set in the loss at Penn State. Fomina also played a career-high 31 minutes against Manhattan and recently grabbed a career-high five rebounds against Lafayette and Texas Tech.
 
19 DIMES:The Rams recorded 19 assists on their 22 made baskets in the win at Manhattan. The 19 assists are the most since the Rams registered 21 against George Washington Feb. 8, 2014.
 
MORE CAREER HIGHS: Junior Hannah Missry dished out a career-high three assists against Manhattan while collecting her fourth career block, and junior Danielle Burns grabbed a career-best eight boards and swatted a career-high two shots in a career-best 31 minutes at Penn State, before swishing a career-high two three's against Manhattan and tying a career high in steals with three against Texas Tech.
 
SEASON OPENERS: After the loss at Penn State, the Rams' record in season openers dropped to 21-25 overall in now the program's 46th season. The Rams last won a season opener two years ago when they defeated San Francisco, 80-66, inside the Rose Hill Gym. They are now 2-3 in openers under head coach Stephanie Gaitley and 21-24 overall in 45 seasons
 
YEAR 30: Head Coach Stephanie Gaitley is in her 30th season as a head coach and has accumulated 550 career victories.
 
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 welcome another team from The First State Saturday, Dec. 5 when the Hornets of Delaware State visit the Rose Hill Gym for a 2 p.m. contest.