Women's Basketball Looks to Snap Skid Versus Delaware State Saturday

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BRONX, N.Y. -- The Fordham women's basketball team (2-4) looks to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday when it concludes its two-game homestand against teams from The First State, as the Rams welcome Delaware State (1-6) for a 2 p.m. contest inside the Rose Hill Gym. Fans can watch the game online on the Atlantic 10 Network for free or listen for free online on WFUV.

SCOUTING DELAWARE STATE: The Hornets, who are picked to finish last in the 13-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, are coming off a 65-59 home loss to William & Mary Tuesday. DSU snapped a five-game losing streak to start the season Nov. 28 when it defeated Appalachian State, 76-69, at the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament. The Hornets are led in scoring by senior forward Amber Bogard, who averages 10.8 points per game along with 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 81 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Mikah Aldridge adds 9.7 points per game and team highs of 14 steals and 90.5 free throw percentage, while freshman guard/forward NaJai Pollard chips in 8.0 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's meeting between the two sides will only be the third all-time, with the Rams holding a 2-0 lead. The first time the two teams played was Jan. 4, 2012, a 63-48 Fordham victory in Dover, Del., before the Rams won inside the Rose Hill Gym, 69-38, Nov. 18, 2012.

LAST TIME OUT: The Rams fought all the way back to within one, after trailing by 14 to Delaware at halftime, but could not complete the comeback Thursday night inside the Rose Hill Gym, falling to the visitors, 55-48. With the loss, the Rams drop to 2-4 on the season, while the Blue Hens improve to 4-2 overall. Junior Hannah Missry netted a season-high 15 points, all in the second half, knocking down 4-of-8 from behind the arc to lead Fordham in scoring. Senior Samantha Clark collected her third double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore G'mrice Davis chipped in 10 points and six boards.

The Rams trailed only 13-9 after the first 10 minutes, but Delaware built distance in the second quarter, outscoring Fordham, 18-8, to go into halftime leading 31-17. The Rams connected on only 6-of-26 shots in the first half, and the Blue Hens knocked down 12-of-26. But in the third quarter, Clark scored on back-to-back layups, and Missry's first three of the game, after a pair of Clark free throws, brought Fordham to within five at 33-28. The Rams eventually started the quarter with a 19-6 run, as another three from Missry sliced the lead to 37-36 with 4:14 remaining in the third.

After Delaware inched its lead back out to five, sets of free throws from freshman Lauren Holden and Davis crept Fordham back to within one, before the Blue Hens scored at the third-quarter buzzer to enter the final stanza with a 43-40 advantage.
Another Missry trifecta with 6:17 left in the game cut the visitors lead to 45-43, but it was the closest the Rams would come, as the Blue Hens scored the next seven points to take control and earn the 55-48 victory.

Fordham finished the game shooting 30.0 percent (15-of-50) from the field and just 5-of-20 from three-point range. The Rams, however, did sink 13-of-14 free throws and turned it over 14 times, five less than their season average. Delaware finished at 40.4 percent (19-of-47) from the floor, including 1-of-5 from three, and 16-of-24 from the charity stripe. The Blue Hens also won the battle on the glass, 38-31, and outscored Fordham, 26-16, in points in the paint and 14-7 in points off turnovers.

SATURDAY IS PEDIATRIC CANCER AWARENESS DAY: The Rams will be sporting gold shoelaces to help raise awareness for Pediatric Cancer. Donate at the game to support the cause and visit Go4TheGoal.org for more info.

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 61 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 and 4-for-8 night versus Delaware, junior Hannah Missry now has 175 career trey balls and needs 56 more to become the program's all-time leader.

THIRD DOUBLE-DOUBLE: 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.

DAVIS RETURNS TO STARTING LINEUP: Sophomore G'mrice Davis returned to the starting lineup against Delaware and recorded 10 points and six boards.

92.9 %: The Rams made 13-of-14 free throws against Delaware to achieve their highest percentage since making 90.9 percent (10-of-11) in a win over Hofstra Nov. 21, 2014.

SCORING OVER 20 IN QUARTERS: The Rams scored 23 points in the third quarter Thursday against Delaware, the second-highest total of any quarter this season. Fordham also scored 24 points in the second quarter versus Texas Tech and 22 points in the third quarter at Penn State.

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 points against both Lafayette and Texas Tech.

47.7 %: The Rams shot a season-high 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from the field in the loss to #23/RV Syracuse.

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.

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 return to the road Wednesday, Dec. 9 when they make the short trip down the Garden State Parkway to South Orange, N.J. to take on Seton Hall at 7 p.m.