Women's Basketball Travels to Albany on Sunday

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (1-1) continues its out-of-conference schedule by driving up to Albany (1-1) for a Sunday afternoon tilt, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. The game can be streamed live on ESPN3 and fans can follow along via the links above.
 
Last Time Out at Boston College
Fordham took a long time to get going against the Eagles on Thursday, in front of nearly 2,000 local schoolchildren during Boston College's Field Trip Day event, and a late rally in the final four minutes, taking a 12-point deficit down to just three points, was too little too late. It wasn't a loss determined by sloppy play (just 11 turnovers) and too many fouls (just eight before the final two minuts), but inconsistent shot selection and shooting, finishing the night just 19-of-59 (32.2%) from the field overall and 2-of-15 (13.3%) from behind the three-point line. Meanwhile, Boston College, taking 14 fewer shots, converted on 22 of them for 48.9% from the floor and hit 6-of-11 (54.5%) from downtown. The Rams got close late with smart play-calling and terrific free-throw shooting, hitting 10-of-11 freebies in the fourth quarter. G'mrice Davis led the way with game-highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds, her 25th consecutive game with double-digit scoring and at least eight rebounds, dating back to last year, and finished the contest just two points shy of 1,000 for her career. Redshirt freshman Bre Cavanaugh scored 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting, adding five boards and a game-high three steals.
 
Series History
Fordham holds a 4-1 all-time series advantage, since 2009, over the Great Danes. Albany's lone win came, after possibly making a wish, on 11/11/11 in the Bronx, 59-42. Last season's meeting, at home, provided one of the more memorable and exciting contests of the season, with Fordham winning, 89-82, in double overtime. Albany led by six, 64-58, with four minutes left in regulation, but Fordham whittled the lead down to three and then-senior Danielle Burns hit a dramatic three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Classmate Hannah Missry hit a clutch three, as well, with a minute to go in the first period of overtime to send the game to second overtime, where the Rams ran away with the win.
 
Davis Racks Up Preseason Honors
G'mrice Davis' breakout junior season saw her earn First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive honors, and the league's coaches predicted her to do so again as a senior. Read more about it by clicking here. Davis was also selected as one of 20 players in Division I for the inaugural Katrina McClain Award Watch List, to be given out to the nation's top power forward, starting with this season.
 
Fordham Picked to Finish Fifth in Preseason Poll
Likewise, the league's coaches also predicted an identical fifth-place finish for Fordham in the preseason poll. You can click the link above for more information.
 
Davis Approaching 1,000
With 18 points against Boston College on Thursday and 28 on the season, Davis is just two points away from becoming the 20th Ram to ever score 1,000 points in maroon and white.  Above her on the all-time list is Carol Elser ('85), with 1,031.
 
National Ranks
It's never too early to cast a look at the Division I statistics and, while Bre Cavanaugh's nation-leading perfect free-throw shooting is likely unsustainable, she still sits tops in Division I nonetheless, with a perfect nine-for-nine shooting from the charity stripe this season. In fact, the Rams as a whole are shooting very well from the line, hitting 78.9% of their freebies (30-for-38). The squad also ranks 38th with 26 fouls through two games, and 89th with a +8.0 rebounding margin. The latter is, of course, as a result of G'mrice Davis continuing her stellar play on the boards. The senior forward, who finished last year ranked second among all rebounding categories, sits 29th with 12.0 boards per  game, 87th overall with 24 total rebounds, and sixth with 10.0 defensive rebounds per game. She is tied for ninth with several others with two double-doubles on the year, as well. Elsewhere, the backcourt duo of Cavanaugh and Lauren Holden have logged major minutes through two games, with Holden averaging 39.5 minutes per game and Cavanaugh at 38.5, ranked 19th and 35th, respectively.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
A staple of the Gaitley-led Rams is defense, and no stat better represents that than Fordham's 50-5 record when holding opponents under 50 points. Last January, Saint Joseph's defeated the Rams, 47-44, at Hagan Arena in Philadelphia, ending a streak of 38 consecutive contests with such victories. The last time before that loss, coincidentally, was also against the Hawks, in the 2013 A-10 Championship game at the Barclays Center, 47-46. Fordham was 10-1 last year when holding opponents under 50 points, and the victory over UMBC continues the current streak. As a team, the Rams' 55.6 points per game allowed last year was tops in the Atlantic 10 and was top-25 in the country, as well, and they are off to a great start again this year, holding both opponents to an average of 50.5 points thus far, which ranks first the Atlantic 10.
 
Five Fordham Debuts
Five freshmen made their debuts on Friday against UMBC, the most since 2011. Three of those freshmen started the contest, the most in the last 15 years. Joey Klug's 13 points were the most by a freshman in her debut since Hannah Missry scored 14 in 2013. Klug became the first freshman to record both a block and a steal in her debut over the last 15 years, as well, and the first to record at least one block since Samantha Clark had two in her 2012 debut. Cavanaugh's 39 minutes were the most by a freshman making her debut since Megan Mahoney played all 40 minutes in 2007.
 
Gaitley Makes History
Stephanie Gaitley reached 100 wins with the Fordham program against Little Rock on November 19, 2016, and later won her 116th at home against Massachusetts, 74-43, passing Kathy Mosolino ('74-'80) for the most wins in program history. Gaitley tied and passed the milestone with two typical Gaitley-inspired performances, with three-pointers and excellent defense, holding both opponents below 50 points. Gaitley now has 121 wins across seven seasons in the Bronx, an average of over 20 per campaign. The 121 wins are the second-most of any of Gaitley's stops in her 32-year career as a head coach, ahead of her 116 wins at Richmond (1985-91) but a ways away from her 10-year stint at Saint Joseph's (1991-2001), in which she racked up 196 wins. Gaitley has a career 585-347 record and has the second-most overall wins among active A-10 coaches, behind Saint Louis' Lisa Stone, and has the second-most wins as an Atlantic 10 coach, with 176, but is 64 behind Joe McKeown's record of 240 that he accumulated during his 17 years with George Washington from 1989 to 2008.
 
Rams in November
Under Coach Gaitley, Fordham is 24-14 during the month of November, including last Friday's 55-46 win over UMBC in the Bronx, which made it back-to-back campaigns with a season-opening victory. The Rams are 4-3 in season openers, as well.
 
This Is Our House
Fordham finished the year 16-3 at home a season ago, as opposed to a 5-7 record on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites. They were also 7-1 during conference play for the second year in a row. Since Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, the Rams hold a 72-24 (75.0%) record at home and 67-16 (80.7%) mark over the last five seasons.
 
Career Numbers Watch
- G'mrice Davis is two points away from 1,000
- G'mrice Davis is six rebounds away from 800
- G'mrice Davis is seven field goals made away from 400
- G'mrice Davis is six offensive rebounds away from 200
- G'mrice Davis is 16 steals away from 100
- G'mrice Davis is six appearances away from 100
- Asnate Fomina is two assists away from 150
- Asnate Fomina is 10 steals away from 50
- Asnate Fomina is 13 appearances away from 100
- Lauren Holden is one point away from 500
- Lauren Holden is eight assists away from 125
- Lauren Holden is 13 three's away from 100
 
The "Yutes"
The Rams graduated three seniors last May and saw two other players depart. The turnover means there are five returning players and an incoming group of nine freshman, only one of whom will sit out the 2017-18 season. Fordham is one of the youngest teams in the country, with 64.3% of its roster made up of freshman. An unofficial survey yielded that the Rams rank 22^nd in terms of percentage of underclassmen on the roster, and, with no sophomores and nine freshmen, rank joint-first with percentage of freshman. You can view the 2017-18 roster here.
 
The Stephanie Gaitley Show
Back for a seventh season is head coach Stephanie Gaitley and so is her weekly show with WFUV. You can watch and/or listen to every episode by clicking here.

Class of 2018
Gaitley and the program announced a four-person recruiting class on Thursday morning: guards Chloe Chaffin and Cat Polisano, and forwards Kaitlyn Downey and Megan Jonassen. Read more about the newest Rams here.
 
2016-17 Review
Last year's Rams finished the season with a 22-12 overall record and 11-5 in conference play, good for a fifth-place final standing. Their efforts were rewarded with a WNIT bid, the program's third in the past five years under head coach Stephanie Gaitley, and Fordham, like its other two trips to the postseason tournament, made it past the first round, this time by rallying to defeat Georgetown on the road, before falling at Penn State a couple days later. Senior forward G'mrice Davis led the way, becoming just the second Ram to ever average a double-double over the course of the season, and was chosen as an Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive honoree. Davis was the second player to ever earn First Team honors (Erin Rooney in both 2013 and 2014), and third to garner All-Defensive recognition (Arielle Collins in 2013 and Samantha Clark in 2016). Davis finished the campaign second in total rebounding (436), rebounding per game (12.8), defensive boards per game (10.0), and third in double-doubles (24), but is the returning leader in those categories after graduations. Davis was recently predicted to repeat both of her accomplishments for her senior campaign, and was chosen as one of 20 players in Division I to the inaugural Katrina McClain Award watch list, to be given annually to the nation's top power forward.
 
The class of 2017, Danielle Burns, Hannah Missry, and Danielle Padovano, made up some of the most durable players in Fordham history, all three rankings in the top-seven in career games played and, in Missry's case, second all-time in career starts. The trio made up 32.1% of the Fordham offense a season ago. Missry, who broke the school's all-time three-pointers made record as a junior, continued to add to her tally, finishing her career with 310, which ranks third all-time in Atlantic 10 history.
 
Coach Gaitley earned win number 116 at Fordham in a big win over Massachusetts at home last February, breaking a tie with Kathy Mosolino (1974-80) for the most wins in program history. Gaitley finished the year with 120 victories over her six seasons in the Bronx, an average of 20 per season. The 120 wins are the second-most of any of Gaitley's stops in her 32-year career as a head coach, ahead of her 116 win at Richmond (1985-91) but a ways away from her 10-year stint at Saint Joseph's (1991-2001), in which she racked up 196 wins. Gaitley has a career 584-346 record and has the second-most overall wins among active A-10 coaches, behind Saint Louis' Lisa Stone, and has the second-most wins as an Atlantic 10 coach, with 175, but is 65 behind Joe McKeown's record of 240 that he accumulated during his 17 years with George Washington from 1989 to 2008.
 
Up Next
The Rams return home to host Northern Colorado next Friday, November 24, at 7 p.m.