Women's Basketball Hosts Boston College on Sunday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (5-2, 1-0 A-10) returns to its nonconference schedule for the remainder of December after its' win over Duquesne on Thursday night, starting with Boston College (2-5) on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
 
Last Time Out vs. Duquesne
A-10 play began early this year, a new wrinkle introduced by the league, and the Rams and Dukes opened things up on Thursday night. Duquesne eliminated Fordham, 70-65, in the second round of last year's A-10 Championship, in which the Dukes finished runner-up. Coach Gaitley preached getting out to an early lead and the Rams did just that. After Duquesne scored on its first possession, the Rams went on a quick 8-0 run on threes by Danielle Burns and Hannah Missry sandwiched around a Kate Kreslina layup, eventually outscoring the visitors, 16-9, in the first period. Fordham wouldn't relinquish the lead.
 
Duquesne kept things close and got to within two with a quick 5-0 run towards the end of the half, but the Rams' shots were falling and they surged ahead with a lightning fast 8-2 run. Asnate Fomina made her lone three-point attempt of the night and on the next possession, Burns grabbed a crucial offensive board, laying it back up. Duquesne's Brianna Thomas sank both of her free throws with 10 seconds left. Missry got a decent look from deep but just missed her shot with the clock ticking down. Lauren Holden, one of the shortest players on the court, skied for the rebound and quickly pushed it back out to the senior, who did not miss her second chance, burying a very deep look to take a 31-23 lead into the break.
 
With the Dukes' pressing to start the second half, Kreslina came up with her own critical offensive board and fed Missry, who hit her third three to give Fordham its first double digit lead of the evening. On the very next offensive possession, Missry drained her third straight look from deep off a feed from Fomina. Duquesne went on a 7-2 run in response but Fordham buckled down with a 7-3 run of their own, with Burns punctuating the stretch with a buzzer-beating corner three. The senior guard's momentum continued into the fourth by opening up the fourth with another three to get the lead up to 14, where the game would hover around from that point on.
 
Burns' 22 points and seven rebounds were both season-highs and the most points by a player this year thus far. The Rams shot 46.7% from the field and its highest mark from downtown, 10-of-20 (50%), while committing a season-low 11 fouls.  G'mrice Davis missed her third straight double-double by one point.
 
Series History vs. Boston College
The Eagles hold a 5-2 advantage all-time since 1971, the first year Fordham had a women's basketball program. The two schools met in Chestnut Hill on February 6 of that year, with the Eagles topping the Rams, 35-19. Wynn Murrell scored a team-high 21 points for the Rams. The two schools played five times in the 70s before a Fordham 60-57 win on semi-neutral court (at the Harvard Invitational) in 1994 and a win by #17 Boston College, 82-40, in 2004. 
 
Scouting the Eagles
Boston College is led by the duo of Mariella Fasoula and Kelly Hughes, who average 16.9 and 15.9 points per game, respectively. Hughes is one of Division I's active three-point shooting leaders, right up above Hannah Missry. Hughes has hit 274 threes all-time and is third among active players, reaching that mark in three fewer games than Missry. The pair are also the team's leading rebounders with 7.6 and 6.0 boards pulled down, respectively. Fasoula has been tremendous on the offensive glass, pulling down 21 of her team's misses. She is shooting 43.9% from the field. Hughes is near the top of the DI standings with 38.6 minutes player per game so far, shooting at a 34.3% clip from the field and 36.0% from deep. Georgia Pineau is third on the team with 8.1 points per contest over 31.7 minutes. She also grabs 5.1 rebounds per game and leads the squad with 26 assists. There have been four other players who have garnered a start.
 
Gaitley Hits 100
With the win over Little Rock, Stephanie Gaitley has reached 100 wins with the Fordham program. This marks the third school the 31-year veteran head coach has reached the century mark, plus four with at least 95 wins. Gaitley has previously reached the milestone with Richmond and Saint Joseph's, plus garnered 95 wins with LIU Brooklyn, the first three schools she coached at. Her most at a single stop was 196 over a decade with the Hawks. 13 more wins and Gaitley will become the all-time winningest head coach in Fordham history.
 
Gaitley's 900^th Game
Last Tuesday night's double overtime win over Albany was Stephanie Gaitley's 900 career contest as a head coach. She has a 567-336 record over 31 seasons with five different schools.
 
Second-Most Wins in A-10 History
Continuing the trend of Gaitley milestones, the win over Albany was Gaitley's 157th all-time as a coach of an A-10 school (Saint Joseph's and Fordham), passing Theresa Grentz for second-most all-time. Gaitley now has 159 with the win over Grambling State but needs 82 more to break Joe McKeown's all-time record of 240.
 
567 and Counting
Stephanie Gaitley, among active coaches, has the 21st-most career wins in Division I, with 567 after Saturday's win over Little Rock. All-time, the 31-year veteran coach is 42nd.
 
100 Straight For Burns
Senior Danielle Burns played in her 100th straight game in maroon and white on Saturday against Little Rock. Burns hasn't missed a single contest since arriving in the Bronx, making 52 starts. Fellow senior Hannah Missry recently hit the century mark on Sunday against the Tigers, while Danielle Padovano needs three appearances to reach the same milestone.
 
Davis Boarding with the Best
G'mrice Davis has been a force on the glass this season, putting up career numbers across the board that has her near the top of Division I's rebounding lists (as of 12/2/16): Davis' nine defensive rebounds per game are third-most in the nation, her 85 total rebounds ranks sixth, and her 12.1 rebounding average is also sixth overall. Additionally, her three double-doubles in six games rank 35th in the country.
 
Actively One of the Best from Deep
Hannah Missry has amassed 255 three-pointers in her career in the Bronx and is fourth among active players in Division I for all-time downtown makes. She is one ahead of Washington's Kelsey Plum in 11 fewer games. Kelsey Mitchell's otherworldly number of 283 in just 77 contests tops the list and recently made six in her most recent game.
Missry vs. Hughes From Deep
Missry ranks fourth among active players but Hughes sits right above her in third. It will be one of the only times two members of the active list face each other this season. Kelly Hughes has made 274 long-range attempts in three fewer contests.
 
Missry Breaks Out
Senior guard Hannah Missry had struggled over her first three games this season before Albany, scoring 12 points on 4-of-17 from the field. Against the Great Danes, Missry bested her career-high for minutes played by four, with 47, and poured in 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-9 clip from beyond the arc. Missry also matched her career-high with three assists. After being held to just five points against Texas Tech on Friday, Missry exploded in the second quarter versus Grambling State, hitting 5-of-5 shots, 3-of-3 from downtown, for 13 of her 15 points in the win.  She is averaging 2.3 long-range makes per contest, third-most in the A-10.
 
82 To Go
Missry is 82 three-pointers away from breaking Jessica Jenkins' all-time Atlantic 10 record of 338 threes set at St. Bonaventure from 2009-12. Missry recently passed April Robinson (Duquesne 2013-16) for 11th-most all-time. One more and Missry will join both Amra Mehmedic (Saint Joseph's 2001-04) and Erin Shields (Saint Joseph's 2011-14) in the top-10. Missry has averaged 79.7 three's over her three seasons in the Bronx and if she kept up her career pace, would finish within the top-three all-time.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Fordham has held its opponents to less than 50 points 32 times resulting in 32 victories. Under Gaitley, Fordham is 42-4 in such instances and have now won 33 straight with the most recent win over Little Rock, limiting the Trojans to 43 points. The Rams are 2-0 this season holding opponents under 50 points (and 3-0 holding them at 51 and under).
 
Fordham Debuts
Three Rams made their debuts against Furman: redshirt freshman Kate Kreslina started and tallied 10 points and eight rebounds over a team-high 35 minutes, while Mary Goulding and Anna Kelly came off the bench for four and seven points, respectively. Goulding added four rebounds, an assist and a block in 19 minutes, while Kelly added two boards, an assist, and a steal in 11 minutes. Junior transfer Tiffany Suarez made her long-awaited Fordham debut against Little Rock, tallying two points and an assist in nine fourth quarter minutes against the Trojans.
 
Five Sign NLIs in 2016-17 Recruiting Class
Coach Gaitley announced this past week the additions of five student-athletes  to national letters of intent: Halei Gillis, Kendell Heremaia, Zara Jillings, Ralene Kwiatkowski, and Vilisi Tavui. Fordham's global reach under Coach Gaitley continues with two players from North Carolina, two from New Zealand, and one from Fiji. The three international players all have experience playing within their countries' junior ranks.
 
You can read all about the five additions here.
 
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
The Fordham Rams were selected to finish sixth in the annual preseason coaches' poll, announced at A-10 Media Day, held in Richmond, Va., the site of the 2017 A-10 Championship. The Rams finished last season tied for sixth, with an 8-8 conference record, and reached the second round of the conference postseason. Saint Louis, who tied for last year's regular season title and reached the third round of the WNIT, garnered nine first-place votes. Dayton and last year's runner-up Duquesne tied for second in the poll with 166 points apiece, with the latter receiving three first-place votes. Two-time defending champion, George Washington, gathered the remaining two first-place votes and is predicted to finish fourth. Following the Colonials are VCU, Fordham, Richmond, and Saint Joseph's to round out the top eight. Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, George Mason, La Salle, Davidson, and Massachusetts rounded out the preseason rankings, respectively.
 
2015-16 Season Review
The Rams finished last season 14-17 and 8-8 in conference play, defeating Massachusetts in overtime in the first round of the A-10 Championship but falling to eventual runner-up Duquesne in the next round. New Director of Player Development Samantha Clark was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as well as to the All-Defensive Team after a fantastic senior campaign where she led the squad with 12.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, also chipping in a team-high 36 blocks and 30 steals. Clark led the A-10 in minutes played per contest (37.2). Fordham will return the other four starters from last season, with three of them averaging between nine and 10 points per game. Junior G'mrice Davis tallied 9.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per contests with 10 blocks and 21 steals during a solid sophomore season, while Danielle Burns scored 9.6 points per game on 39.8% shooting from the field and led the team with 76 assists. Hannah Missry continued her volume three-point shooting and set the school record for most career long-range makes as a junior, finishing the year with 239. She has averaged 79 threes over her three seasons but will need 100 to break the A-10 career record. Sophomore Lauren Holden solidified her spot as the team's starting point guard as a freshman by averaging 6.3 points per game with 55 assists and 35% shooting from deep, good for third-best on the team. Danielle Padovano and Asnate Fomina were both vital cogs in the rotation off the bench, scoring 4.5 and 4.1 points per game, respectively, while also joining the starting lineup a combined 16 times last season.
 
Fordham WBB Ticket Plans
Two women's ticket options are available:
Flex Plan: $35 for 15 tickets
Community Partner: $100 for 50 tickets
 
With the flex plan option, fans receive 15 ticket vouchers good for use at any Fordham women's basketball game, plus a special Fordham scarf. As a community partner, you also have the opportunity to provide 50 tickets to a group of your choice.

The Rams have six remaining out-of-conference match-ups within the Rose Hill Gym and seven in Atlantic 10 play, including one nationally televised home contest – the home season finale against Dayton on February 19.
 
You can purchase single game tickets for all home contests here.
 
Up Next
Fordham will travel to Iona on Wednesday afternoon, playing the Gaels at 4 p.m., before returning home for a six-game homestand to round out nonconference play.