Women's Basketball Drops Davidson In The Bronx

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Bronx, N.Y. – It was another uncharacteristically high-scoring affair for the Fordham women's basketball team, especially with the squad short-handed, but the Rams were efficient and have now begun Atlantic 10 play 3-0 with the latest win, 85-72, over Davidson on Wednesday night. Fordham improves to 12-5 overall, while the Wildcats fall to 2-12 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
 
"I'm really proud of this team for coming together through adversity tonight," head coach Stephanie Gaitley said, "G'mrice [Davis] had another monster game and Anna [Kelly] did an outstanding job filling in for Lauren [Holden]. Tonight was a great win!"
 
Both G'mrice Davis and Anna Kelly broke out for career-high performances on the evening, with the former notching her ninth double-double of the season with 27 points to go with 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals while playing all 40 minutes for the second time this season. Kelly came off the bench and flourished in the second half, finishing with a season-high 18 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, also adding a pair of assists and steals. The duo were joined in double figures by Kate Kreslina, who had missed the past three games due to illness, and Hannah Missry, both with 14 points, and Danielle Burns, who made it seven straight double-digit games with 10 points.
 
Fordham started off red hot from the field in the first few minutes, prompting a timeout from Wildcats head coach Michele Savage after the Rams scored five quick buckets on five assists for an 11-4 lead. The Wildcats composed themselves and returned the favor, racing out on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead, 12-11, capped by a Mackenzie Latt jumper. It was the Rams' turn to score in quick succession as the hosts responded with a 9-0 run over three minutes to end the first quarter, capped off by Missry's second triple of the evening.
 
The second quarter proved to be Davidson's; the Wildcats outscored the hosts 22-13 and went into the break up one, 34-33, although the lead could've been larger as they hit just 1-of-4 free throws in the dying seconds. Davidson shot 9-of-14 in the period compared to Fordham's 5-of-12 mark. Latt's jumper kicked the second frame off but Davis converted the traditional three-point play on the other end to bump the lead up to nine, 23-14. After two Latt free throws, Davis again was fouled after scoring under the basket but the junior missed her extra point attempt. Davidson chipped away around another Missry three, her third of the contest, and a Davis jumper, using an 11-5 run to bring the lead down to three, 30-27, leading to a Gaitley timeout. Out of the break, Kate Kreslina nailed a shot from behind the arc but the Wildcats closed out the half on a 7-0 run, which could've stretched to 10 had Justine Lyon not missed her second free throw or Andrea Robinson her two attempts. Both fouls came in the final seconds as both Burns and Danielle Padovano committed fouls on offensive rebounds while in the bonus.  
 
The two teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter until the Rams pulled away late and held on from there. Davis had position down low and hit a turnaround jumper to begin the half which preceded back-to-back threes from Chloe Johnson and Kreslina. Lyon converted an and-one to give her team a three-point lead, 40-37, but Fordham, between baskets by Davis and Kreslina and two free throws from Burns, rattled off a 6-0 run to lead, 43-40. Davidson would retake the lead briefly, 45-43, after a 5-0 run finished with a Johnson layup but Burns answered on the other side of the court for the game's sixth and final tie, 45-45.
 
Fordham finished the game on a 40-27 run shooting a nearly perfect 10-of-11 from the field and 19-of-21 free throws. Suarez's lone basket of the game, a long two, proved to be the eventual game winner. It was also at this time that Anna Kelly returned to the court where should would score 16 points over the final 13 minutes. The freshman guard converted an and-one on a smooth left-handed layup and later added two free throws to finish the third quarter with seven points after three quarters, matching her season-high that she had reached three other times.
 
Kelly wasn't done, though, and neither was Davis as the duo combined for 18 points in the fourth quarter. Fordham shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor in the final frame and hit 14-of-16 free throws. Fordham outscored Davidson, 29-23, in the frame, the most points the Rams have scored in a quarter this season.
 
Davidson had more attempts and makes from the field (30-for-63) but the Rams shot more efficiently, connecting on 51.9% (28-of-54) compared to their opponent's 47.6% mark. The two teams both notched 32 rebounds, with the Wildcats winning on the offensive glass, 12-9. Fordham limited itself to just 12 turnovers compared to 14 assists, while Davidson notched 16 and 13, respectively. The Rams continued to excel along the perimeter, hitting 40% of their shots from deep (6-of-15), while limiting Davidson to just 27.3% (3-of-11), right in line with where they've been holding opponents.
 
Fordham and Davidson combined for 70 points in the paint, 36-34 in favor of the Rams, while Davidson enjoyed a 23-19 margin on points off turnovers.
 
Missry continues to move up leaderboards midway through her senior campaign, not sitting 14 points behind Carol Elser '85 for 18^th all-time in program history and needing six more triples to pass Amy Waugh (Xavier '00-'03) for sixth place in A-10 history.
 
Fordham returns to action on Saturday for a 1 p.m. A-10 match-up at George Mason.