Women's Basketball Hosts Northern Colorado Friday Night

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (1-2) returns to the Bronx after two straight nonconference road contests to host Northern Colorado (4-1) on Friday night at the Rose Hill Gym. Fans that can't make it out to Rose Hill can follow along with the game via the links above.
 
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Last Time Out at Albany
For the second game in a row, the Rams found themselves looking at a double-digit deficit late the contest. At Boston College, that margin was 11 with just under four minutes in regulation, as Fordham rallied but fell just short in the final seconds. At Albany, the Rams began a 13-point comeback with a 17-6 fourth quarter outburst, punctuated by G'mrice Davis' layup with 20 seconds left to play to put her team up one, their first lead of the day. However, freshman forward Johanna Klug was called for a questionable push under the basket with three seconds to go and Albany's Heather Forster hit 1-of-2 freebies to send the game to overtime. In extra time, Jessica Fequiere took over, scoring nine of her 27 points as the Rams were brushed aside, with both Davis and Halei Gillis fouling out, as well, in the final two minutes. Davis tallied yet another big double-double, her third straight to begin the year, with 17 points and 17 rebounds, and adding three steals across 40 minutes. Both Bre Cavanaugh and Lauren Holden each notched 11 points and two steals, with the former playing a season-high 40 minutes and the latter matching a personal-best by playing all 45 minutes. The Rams struggled to score in the first half but improved as the game wore on, thnaks mostly in part to Davis' efforts in the paint, while playing stout defense against the Great Danes in the second half after allowing the hosts to shoot 44.8% from the floor in the first half.
 
Series History vs. Northern Colorado
The two schools have never met before.
 
Davis Scores 1,000th Point
G'mrice Davis entered her senior campaign with 970 career points scored and knowing it wouldn't be long to become the 20th Ram to ever accomplish the feat of scoring 1,000 career points in maroon and white. After scoring 28 combined points in her first two games, she was able to reach 1,000 quickly at Albany on Sunday, midway through the first quarter on a textbook midrange jumper from near the left elbow off a pass by Lauren Holden. Davis would go quiet thereafter but explode in the second half, scoring 15 of her 17 points, including the go-ahead basket with 20 seconds left in regulation. The Philadelphia native now sits on 1,015 career points, 17 away from passing Carol Elser ('85) for 19th all-time.
 
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.
 
National Ranks
It's never too early to cast an eye towards the Division I national statistics. Davis has reasserted herself at or near the top of the rebounding categories, while logging heavy minutes alongside the backcourt duo of Lauren Holden and Bre Cavanaugh. Holden leads the country in minutes played per game thus far. Read more below about the individual stats.
 
As a team, the Gaitley-led Rams continue to be a top-50 defensive squad, currently ranked 32nd overall with just 53.3 points allowed per game. The Rams are also top-75 at the free-throw line and in limiting their fouls. Fordham is shooting 75.0% as a squad from the charity stripe, ranked 58th, and have committed just 47 personal fouls, a rate of 15.7 per game, which ranks 57th and 62nd overall, 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. As a team, the Rams' 55.6 points per game allowed was tops in the Atlantic 10 and was top-25 in the country, as well. The streak continued with the team's season-opening 55-46 win over UMBC.
 
Davis Rebounds with the Best
G'mrice Davis, the nation's returning leading rebounder, has picked up right where she left off with her breakout junior campaign. The senior forward leads all players with 11.0 defensive rebounds per game, ranks 10th with 13.7 overall rebounds per game, and 31st with 41 total boards. Her three double-doubles to begin the year are tied with five others for seventh in the nation.
 
Got a Minute?
Junior tri-captain Lauren Holden leads Division I in minutes played, currently at 41.3 per game. A starter since midway through her freshman season, Holden has played in 39, 40, and 45 minutes, respectively, to start this campaign, missing just one minute of action in the season-opening win over UMBC on November 10. Freshman guard Bre Cavanaugh, meanwhile, is averaing 39.0 minutes per game during the first three contests of her Fordham career. She played 40 of 45 minutes at Albany on Sunday. G'mrice Davis' 36.0 minutes per game also ranks 76th.
 
Fourth Quarter Rallies
In Fordham's two losses this season, the Rams have faced double-digit deficits but made furious charges in the final period of action to get close or take the lead. At Boston College, the Eagles led by 12 with 3:23 left in regulation. Fordham responded, however, and rattled off an impressive 10-1 run down to the final 20 seconds where the Eagles were able to hit both of their free throws and solidify the victory. At Albany, the Rams entered the fourth quarter trailing by 11. Fordham had shown flashes in the third quarter, outscoring Albany, 12-11, but still unable to make up the necessary ground. The Great Danes began the fourth with a short 4-2 run to lead by 13, but after that last basket, it was all Fordham. The Rams rampaged to a one-point lead with 20 seconds to play, capping a 15-1 run, with G'mrice Davis scoring 11 of those points. Unfortunately for Fordham, the Great Danes would tie things up and go on to win in overtime.
 
Slow Starts, Strong Finishes
Through three games this season, the Rams are being outscored by their opponents, 42-30, in first quarters. While nearly equal in the two middle periods (combined 72-71), Fordham have been playing very well in fourth quarters this season, outscoring opponents, 52-33, in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
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 contest at home against Massachusetts, 74-43, in February, 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. Entering the 2017-18 season, Gaitley has 120 wins across six seasons in the Bronx, an average of over 20 per campaign. Her 121 total 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 585-348 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.
 
This Is Our House
Fordham finished its 2016-17 campaign with a 16-3 at home, as opposed to a 5-7 record on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites. They were also 7-1 during home conference contests 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. On the flip side, including this year's 1-2 start, Gaitley's Rams are 49-54 (47.6%) on the road or on neutral ground.
 
November Rams
Under Coach Gaitley, Fordham is 24-15 during the month of November, and 4-3 in season openers. This season they are 1-2.
 
Career Numbers Watch
- G'mrice Davis is 35 points away from 1,050
- G'mrice Davis is 39 rebounds away from 850
- G'mrice Davis is three offensive rebounds away from 200
- G'mrice Davis is 13 steals away from 100
- G'mrice Davis is four 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 six assists away from 125
- Lauren Holden is 11 three's away from 100
- Lauren Holden is 28 minutes away from 2,000
 
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 make the short trip to Riverdale for the annual Battle of the Bronx with Manhattan, scheduled for next Wednesday, November 29, at 7 p.m.