Women's Basketball Begins Title Defense Friday in Richmond

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RICHMOND, Va. -- The fourth-seeded Fordham women's basketball team (19-10, 11-5 A10) meets the fifth-seeded Richmond Spiders (18-12, 9-7 A10) Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Atlantic 10 Tournament inside the Richmond Coliseum. The game will be televised nationally on American Sports Network, with tipoff slated for 2 p.m. Viewers can also watch online on the Atlantic 10 Network and listen as always online at WFUVSports.org. The Spiders received a bye to Thursday's second round and squeaked out a 67-63 victory over the 13th-seed Massachusetts.

Tournament Notes
The Rams enter the 2015 Atlantic 10 Tournament as the defending champions, their first in program history. Fordham has reached the title game the last two seasons and is 5-1 during that stretch. The Rams are 5-2 in three conference tournaments under head coach Stephanie Gaitley, are in the quarterfinals for the third straight year, and for the sixth time since joining the league in the 1995-96 season, sporting a record of 2-3. A victory will give Fordham its third straight 20-win season and eighth in program 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).

Last Time Out
It was Senior Day inside the Rose Hill Gym Sunday (3/1) for the Rams, and things became tight late in the second half in their regular-season Atlantic 10 finale with last-place Davidson. However, it was the play of senior Emily Tapio and graduate student Tiffany Ruffin down the stretch that allowed Fordham to rally for a 54-46 victory over the Wildcats.

Fordham tied its largest lead of the game, 38-25, after Tapio made a pair of free throws at the 14:51 mark of the second half. But the Rams would go cold from field and struggled taking care of the basketball, as the Wildcats navigated a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes to go in front, 42-40, with 7:14 remaining.

Tapio answered for Fordham and tied the game at 42-42, before Davidson regained the lead for the final time. Tapio then delivered one of the big plays of the game when she converted an old-fashion three-point play in traffic, which put the advantage back in the Rams favor for good, 45-44.

Tapio knocked down a jumper on Fordham's next possession, before Ruffin buried a basket at the 2:13 mark to stretch the lead out to 49-44. Davidson cut the lead to three on a pair of free throws with 46 ticks left, but it was as close as the Wildcats would come, after the Rams made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the victory.

Tapio finished with her second double-double of the season with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Ruffin added 11 points, a game-high four assists and two steals. Sophomore Hannah Missry also netted 11 points, while junior Samantha Clark chipped in seven points, two blocks, and a game-high 12 boards.

Neither side shot well from the field, with Fordham shooting at a 37.5 percent (18-of-48) clip, including 5-of-17 from three-point range, while Davidson finished at 32.8 percent (19-of-58) and just 2-of-11 from distance. The Rams won the battle on the glass, 42-33, and swished 13-of-20 free throws, compared to 6-of-7 for the Wildcats.

Fordham was in control after taking a 6-4 lead on Missry's second three-pointer of the game, as the Rams started out 4-for-4 from the field. Fordham stretched its lead out to 13 three different times over the first 20 minutes and held a 31-21 lead at halftime.

Richmond
2014-15 Season: 18-12 (9-7 A10)
When: Friday, March 6 - 2 p.m.
Where: Richmond, Va. (Richmond Coliseum)
Series History: Richmond leads 12-4 (since Nov. 25, 1988)
Last Meeting: Jan. 4, 2015 - Fordham 65 Richmond 64 (OT) (in Bronx, N.Y.)
What You Need To Know: The Spiders, who have now won two straight after snapping a three-game losing streak that included two overtime losses, set up a rematch with the Rams. Richmond sunk 20-of-26 free throws and knocked down 7-of-20 from distance in its victory over the Minutewomen Thursday while shooting 35 percent from the field. Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection Janelle Hubbard leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game and is one of the top three-point shooters in the league at 42.6 percent (55-of-129) and free throw producers in the league at 81.7 percent. She scored 18 in the victory over Massachusetts. Lauren Tolson adds 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and led Richmond with 22 points and five boards Thursday. She is also shooting 86.3 percent from the charity stripe. Third Team All-Atlantic 10 performer Genevieve chips in 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, which is one of the top averages in the league, and leads the Spiders in field goal percentage (47.6 percent) and blocks (31). She had 12 points and nine boards against the Minutewomen.

Up Next
If the Rams win, they play Saturday at 11 a.m. against the winner of Friday's first quarterfinal contest between top-seeded George Washington and ninth-seeded Saint Louis. The contest will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.