Women's Basketball at #24/#23 George Washington Saturday

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WASHINGTON -- The fourth-place Fordham women's basketball team (17-9, 9-4 A10) looks to snap a mini two-game skid Saturday when it takes on #24/#23 George Washington (22-3, 12-1 A10) inside the Charles E. Smith Center, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Rams were defeated by second-place Dayton, 59-45, Wednesday night in Atlantic 10 action inside the Rose Hill Gym. Fordham trailed 13-9 after a Dayton basket at the 6:46 mark of the opening half but tied it on sophomore Hannah Missry's four-point play. Senior Emily Tapio scored the next three points to cap a 7-0 spurt, which gave the Rams a 16-13 lead. However, Fordham would go scoreless over the final 4:51 of the half, and the Flyers took advantage by scoring the last 10 points of the stanza to take a 23-16 halftime lead.

The visitors increased the run to 14-0 after scoring four quick points to begin the second half to stretch their advantage out to 27-16 with 18:48 to go. The Rams chipped the lead back down to seven at 29-22, before Dayton responded with an 8-1 flurry to go in front 37-23 with 10:52 remaining.

Six straight Fordham points sliced the deficit back down to eight, but a 9-1 Flyer run produced the visitors' largest lead of contest, 46-30, with 4:04 left. The Rams were not finished and fought back with a 10-2 spurt and were able to get within eight at 48-40 with a shade under two minutes to go, but it was not enough, as Dayton hit 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory.

Both sides combined for 44 turnovers, with Fordham forcing 24 Flyer miscues. But Dayton was able to take advantage of the Rams' mistakes, outscoring them 21-10 on points off turnovers. Dayton also won the battle on the glass, 42-36. Fordham had trouble scoring from the field all game long, shooting 26.4 percent (14-of-53), including just 2-of-17 from behind the arc, but did make 15-of-22 free throws.

The defense held the conference's top-scoring team to nearly 17 points below their season average while keeping them at their shooting average of 43.8 percent (21-of-48). Dayton did shoot 52.2 percent in the second half, however, and the conference's top three-point shooting team converted 4-of-7 from distance while knocking down just 13-of-23 from the charity stripe.

Graduate student Tiffany Ruffin led the Rams with a career-high 19 points (7-of-8 FT) to go along with three boards, three assists and two steals. Tapio added nine points and tied a career high in steals with nine, while junior Samantha Clark grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds.

George Washington
2014-15 Season: 22-3 (12-1 A10)
When: Saturday, Feb. 21 - 2 p.m.
Where: Washington, D.C. (Charles E. Smith Center)
Series History: GW leads 17-3 (since Jan. 20, 1996)
Last Meeting: Feb. 8, 2014 - Fordham 67 GW 58 (in Bronx, N.Y.)
What You Need To Know: The Colonials, who were picked to finish second in the conference this season, currently sit all alone in first place and are ranked #24 AP Poll and #23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. George Washington's lone conference loss came at Saint Louis, 79-61, Feb. 15, which snapped a 19-game losing streak. The Colonials loss their season opener at Florida Gulf Coast, who is now nationally-ranked, and at #9/#8 Maryland, 75-65. George Washington is one of the top rebounding teams in the country averaging 48 per game to lead the conference. The Colonials rank fifth nationally in defensive rebounds per game (31.0) and ninth in offensive rebounds per game (17.0) while ranking first in the country in rebounding margin (+14.2). They also lead the conference in scoring margin (+14.2), which is good enough for #17 in the country, and steals per game (10.2). George Washington trails just Fordham in field goal percentage defense (.356, #20 nationally) and scoring defense (57.3) and is second in the conference in assists per game (17.0) and field goal percentage (.420). The Colonials also score the third-most points (72.1) in the league and have produced the third-best three-point field goal percentage defense (.284). Junior Jonquel Jones is one of the top post players in the country, as she leads the conference in rebounding (12.8 per game), which ranks fourth in the country; defensive rebounds per game (8.0), which ranks seventh; offensive rebounds per game (4.0), which ranks 11th; and 16 double-doubles, which ranks eighth. The 6-4 forward also leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points and 1.7 blocks per game. Sophomore Caira Washington adds 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 50 percent (127-of-254) from the field. Nine players have at least 15 steals, with sophomore Hannah Schaible leading the way with 57, and senior Chakecia Miller is right behind with 56 and leads the team with 99 assists, as six players have at least 34 or more.
Up Next
The Rams return to the area of the nation's capital when they head to Fairfax, Va. to take on George Mason this Wednesday, Feb. 25, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m.