Women's Basketball Hosts Dayton Sunday in Regular Season Home Finale

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team (18-10, 9-5 A-10) is down to its final two regular season contests over the next seven days. First up is a nationally televised date with current league leader Dayton (18-8, 12-2 A-10) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the home finale, broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. It is also Senior Day and the team will honor seniors Danielle Burns, Hannah Missry,  Danielle Padovano, and four team managers. 
 
Last Time Out at Davidson
The Rams, who had won three straight at home, own a 14-3 record in the Bronx this season, but continue to struggle on the road. The loss at Davidson on Tuesday night, 52-51, in the final seconds, was the team's sixth year and fourth of seven road contests in conference play. Fordham led for much of the game and nearly the entire second half, from the 6:41 mark of the third quarter up until Saadia Timpton's jumper with 15 seconds to play gave the Wildcats a one-point lead. The Rams led by as much as nine early in the fourth period after G'mrice Davis' layup 45 seconds in. However, Davidson closed the quarter out on a 13-3 run and a 9-0 run over the final five-plus minutes. Davis was the lone Ram in double figures, tallying her 19th double-double of the season, and third straight, with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but also shot just 3-of-14 from the field, her worst mark of the season and fewest field goals since St. John's in mid-December. Six other Rams scored between four and eight points. The team should just 30% and 27.3% from behind the arc, committing 14 turnovers. The Rams did win the battle of the boards by a pretty wide margin, 43-35, including a season-high 19 on the offensive glass, but Fordham couldn't capitalize, scoring just 11 second-chance points.
 
Series History vs. Dayton
Dayton holds a 20-5 all-time series advantage since 1996, the year both schools entered the Atlantic 10. The Rams have struggled against the Flyers in recent years, winning just once in the last decade, 63-51, during the team's run to the 2014 A-10 title. In fact, the last three times Fordham has been the victor have come in the postseason, also in 2005 and 2002. Under Coach Gaitley, the Rams are 1-5 against Dayton and 0-5 during the regular season. The Flyers won last year, in Ohio, 77-55, in the regular season finale.
 
Scouting the Flyers
Dayton has lost just two conference games thus far and top the league with a 12-2 record. The first loss came back on December 4 against La Salle and the other just two weeks ago at George Washington. The loss against the Colonials snapped an 11-game winning streak spanning the proper conference slate, starting with Massachusetts, 62-60, on New Year's Eve. Dayton doesn't have that one standout player but does everything well, outscoring teams by 6.6 points this season by shooting the ball well (38.9%), taking and making a good amount of threes (33.6% on 539 attempts), and get to the line a ton (507 attempts) and converting at a solid rate (69.0%). The Flyers are also excellent rebounders, averaging 42.0 per game, and are solid defensively, as well. The one area they could stand to improve to assist/turnover ratio, currently with 13.4 assists per game but 15.7 turnovers. Guards Jenna Burdette and Kelley Austria are the leading scorers, with 12.3 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. The duo are also the team's top two assisters, with 103 and 67, respectively. However, Burdette has missed the team's last four games. Austria also has a team-high 44 steals and is the more efficient shooter, hitting 39.6% of all shots and 39.8% from deep. Saicha Grant-Allen leads the way with 8.7 rebounds per game to go with her 9.7 points and 30 blocks. JaVonna Layfield and Alex Harris each average 7.8 boards per game. Layfield is one of three players to start all 26 games and Harris has started 19 of 26 and also leads the team with 47 blocks.
 
Gaitley Makes History
Stephanie Gaitley reached 100 wins with the Fordham program against Little Rock on November 19 and has now won 116 games, 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. She has now reached 116 wins at three different schools: Fordham, Richmond, and Saint Joseph's.
 
Missry Hits 1,000 Points
Senior guard Hannah Missry needed nine points entering the New Year's Day matinee at Rhode Island to reach the career milestone and, fittingly, knocked down her first three triples in the first quarter to become the 19th Ram to ever reach the mark. The Manasquan, N.J. native accomplished the feat in her 110th appearance (105th start). Since, the senior guard has moved past Carol Elser '85, Stacey Paukovitz '93, and former teammate Erin Rooney '14 and now stands 16th all-time with 1,096 career points.
 
Fordham Seniors On the Accelerated Track
Featured in a Sunday edition of the New York Times in early January, Ram seniors Danielle Burns, Hannah Missry, and Danielle Padovano's story of being the only three seniors in any program in the country to graduate in three years and currently enrolled in a Master's program as seniors, was told. Interestingly, all three are also earning the same degree -- Media Management.
 
Conference-Only
Fordham is 9-5 in conference play and tied for fourth. It's been a roller coaster ride for the Rams in league play up to this point, first matching the program's best-ever start to conference action, in any league, with six straight wins before dropping four consecutive contests, and now a tough road loss in the final seconds after three straight home victories. Fordham is outscoring opponents 59.6 to 54.1 (+5.5). G'mrice Davis leads the way with 15.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game and has a double-double in all but two games - against Duquesne where she missed it by one point (9 pts, 10 reb) and at St. Bonaventure where she finished with just seven rebounds. The junior is also converting her attempts at a 50.6% clip. Danielle Burns is next with 9.3 points per game and a team-leading 32 assists, two ahead of Asnate Fomina, who has 29 despite averaging just 13.9 minutes off the bench. Hannah Missry has hit 37.8% of her A-10 three-point attempts (31-of-82) and averages 8.4 points per game, while Kate Kreslina has converted on 39.5% of her long-range attempts. During the four-game losing streak, the Rams struggled from the field, shooting 34.6% overall (74-of-214) and just 23.9% from deep (17-of-71). Fordham struggled to create, with just 9.5 assists compared to 15.5 turnovers per game but improved on that with 13 and 12, respectively, against the Bonnies. Fordham's non-Davis starters were a combined 29-of-113 (25.7%) during the slide.
 
G'mrice is Rolling
The Philly native is absolutely rolling over her past 17 games, scoring in double figures in every contest and missing out on a double-double just twice. Since a season-low four points against St. John's at home, the junior has been averaging 16.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per contest on 50.2% shooting to go with 11 blocks and 17 steals across a team-high 33.4 minutes. During the stretch, Davis collected two A-10 Player of the Week honors.
 
The Bronx is Our House
The Rams are 14-3 this season in the Bronx, as opposed to a 3-6 record on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. They are also 6-1 at home during conference play. Fordham began this season with six straight home victories and has two separate three-game winning streaks in the Rose Hill Gym, including the current one.
 
Iron Women
Danielle Burns and Hannah Missry have been two of the most durable players in program history and are near the top of the all-time games played and appearances lists. Burns has never missed a contest in her four years in the Bronx and made her 125th career appearance against the Wildcats on Tuesday. She had made 70 overall starts, including 47 straight, before coming off the bench the past three games. Hannah Missry is a four-year starter who has made 116 starts in 121 appearances. They are the fifth and sixth Rams, respectively, to ever make 120 appearances. Missry is second all-time in career starts behind former teammate Samantha Clark '16, who made 126 starts. The duo are three and five appearances, respectively, from passing both Anne Gregory '80 and former teammate Abigail Corning '14 for third all-time.
 
Gaitley's 900th Game
The double overtime win over Albany on November 22 was Stephanie Gaitley's 900 career contest as a head coach. She has a 580-344 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 173 but needs 68 more to break Joe McKeown's all-time record of 240 that he accumulated in 17 seasons at the helm of George Washington from 1989-2008.
 
Defense, Defense, Defense
Saint Joseph's ended the ultimate Stephanie Gaitley-inspired program streak of 38 straight wins, dating back to the end of the 2012-13 season, in which Fordham held opponents under 50 points. The Hawks defeated the Rams, 47-44, at Hagan Arena in mid-January. Coincidentally, the last time before that in which Fordham lost in such a way was also to Saint Joseph's, in the 2013 A-10 Championship game at the Barclays Center, 47-46. The Rams began a new streak last Saturday by defeating St. Bonaventure, 57-45, and have made it three straight by holding the Hawks to 39 points and UMass to 43. This season, Fordham is 10-1 in such contests, including five in conference play, plus holding Duquesne to 51 points on December 1. Overall, under Gaitley, the Rams are 49-5 in such wins.
 
Defense Part Deux
Through 28 games this season, Fordham's defense has limited opposing scoring to just 55.6 points per contest, ranking 19th in the country. Part of that is due to the Rams' stingy perimeter D that has held opponents to just 27.4% (93-for-340) shooting from beyond the arc, currently situated at 20th nationally. The Rams had been 12th in the country two weeks ago before VCU (4-of-8) and Saint Louis (10-of-20) each hit 50% of their attempts, but Fordham has held its last five opponents to just 11-of-54 shooting from deep (20.4%).
 
Three and D
Fordham is 60th in the country in three-point attempts (549) and 54th in makes (182), improvements made with a season-best 16-of-30 performance against UMass last Saturday, while playing terrific defense along the perimeter that has led to teams shooting just 27.4% from deep (20th in the nation).
 
A-10 Ranks
The Rams are back atop the league in scoring defense (55.6 pts/game), free throw percentage (75.5%), three-point defense (27.4%), and rebounding defense, holding opponents to just 33.5 boards per game. Fordham is also fourth in scoring margin (+3.8), field goal percentage (39.4%), assist/turnover ratio (0.8), three-pointers per game (6.5), and three-point shooting (33.2%). On the individual level, G'mrice Davis' 12.5 rebounds per game leads the league as does her 9.9 defensive boards. Davis' 49.4% percentage from the field ranks fourth. Hannah Missry's 2.0 triples per contest ranks fourth-most in the conference and both Kate Kreslina's and Hannah Missry's recent hot shooting has them fifth and 11th with 37.3% and 34.3% shooting, respectively, from deep.
 
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 2/16/17): Davis' 349 rebounds, 9.9 defensive rebounds per game and 12.5 rebounding average are all second in the nation. Additionally, her 19 double-doubles rank second, as well. Davis has tallied 12 or more rebounds in 16 contests and has notched double-doubles in 15 of her last 17 contests. After grabbing just seven in Olean three weeks ago, Davis began a new streak with 22 points and 19 rebounds in her hometown against the Hawks.
 
It Takes Two to... Rebound at a Historic Rate
Anne Gregory ('80) is one of the NCAA's all-time best rebounders. She is the only Ram in school history to average 10 or more rebounds over a single season and she did it all four of her years in the Bronx. Her lowest total, 12.5, came in 1979-80 during her senior year and G'mrice Davis currently bests that by .1 through 27 games. She's at the very least on pace to become just the second Ram to ever grab double figure rebounds per contest over a season. Davis' 349 rebounds currently rank fifth-most in a single season and her 7.9 career average is fourth-highest in program history.
 
Actively One of the Best from Deep
Hannah Missry has amassed 296 three-pointers in her career in the Bronx and is sixth among active players in Division I for all-time downtown makes. Missry has recently passed Suntana Granderson (Xavier '04-'07), Lisa Cermignaro (George Washington '94-'97), Amy Waugh (Xavier '00-'03), Stefanie Collins (St. Bonaventure '02-'06), and now both Cathy Jones (George Washington '00-'04) and Suzie Dailer (St. Bonaventure '92-'95) for third-most all-time in A-10 history. She needs nine more to pass Nicole Levandusky (Xavier '98-'01) for second.
 
Career-Highs for G'mrice
The junior forward is playing the most minutes of her career this season and is putting up terrific numbers. Davis has set three new career-highs in rebounds, first with 15 at #1 Notre Dame, then 17 against Texas Tech, including seven on the offensive glass, and finally 21 against Grambling State, one of the top single-game numbers in A-10 history. Following the win over Davidson, she has now set three new scoring career-highs, as well, first with 22 points against Boston College, 24 in the Battle of the Bronx, and now 27 against the Wildcats. At Iona, Davis played the entire 40 minutes for the first time in her career and matched that recently at Saint Joseph's and at home against VCU.
 
Missry For Three!
Hannah Missry tied and broke the all-time Fordham career three-point record last season against St. Bonaventure (2/24/16) with two timely second-half bombs, tying and moving past Heather Donlon (1989-93) on the all-time list. Missry finished her season with five more long-range efforts over the next three contests and began her senior campaign with 239. This year, the senior is shooting 57-of-164 from deep (34.3%) and has enjoyed some success in recent games, hitting between two and five triples in nine of the last 15 contests. Her 2.0 per-game average is fourth in the conference.
 
43 To Go
Missry is 43 three-pointers away from breaking Jessica Jenkins' all-time Atlantic 10 record of 338 threes set at St. Bonaventure from 2009-12. The Manasquan, N.J. native is on pace to finish just behind Jenkins in either second or third.
 
Kelly Provides Punch Off Bench
Freshman guard Anna Kelly started her Fordham career by scoring seven points in three of her first four games but spent the next 12 contests playing between two and 14 minutes, excluding one 19-minute cameo. Needing an injection of energy against Davidson at the beginning of January, Kelly flourished, tallying a career-high 18 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Kelly also tallied two rebounds, two steals, and two assists, in 27 minutes. Over her next four games, she averaged just under four points per game but, at Saint Louis and George Washington, was one of the lone bright spots over a tough period for the team, averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, with two assists, and 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 11-of-13 shooting from the line across 24.5 minutes. Kelly has cooled off a bit, though, in her last five contests, averaging just 3.0 points per game across 13.8 minutes per game.
 
Fordham's Charity
Fordham is 34th in the country thus far with a 75.5% clip from the free throw line. The Rams have spent a large portion of this season atop the A-10 leaderboards before some struggles from the line helped them slip to second. Before a season-high 23-of-29 performance from the stripe against Davidson (1/4), over the team's previous five games, the Rams were hitting just 64.7% (44-of-68) of their freebies, including a 16-for-25 mark at Rhode Island, the most attempts of the season but also just the third-most makes. The 10-of-11 shooting from the line in Olean helped the Rams again reach the summit in the league. Fordham hit 11-of-16 at Saint Joseph's but rebounded with 12-of-14 against VCU. The Rams fell back down a spot after shooting 8-of-12 against St. Bonaventure but a 15-of-17 line against the Hawks brought them back up. The current 75.5% mark would be the third-best in program history.
 
Kiwis Enroll Early
Two of Fordham's Class of 2021 recruits have joined the team and have been declared eligible to practice and compete. However, the two Kiwis, Kendell Heremaia and Zara Jillings, will redshirt and sit out the remainder of this season. Natives of New Zealand, the duo's school year ended this winter and the pair enrolled early to get integrated into the program. Jillings and Heremaia have taken jersey numbers 15 and 30, respectively, for now.
 
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.
 
Rams to Host A-10 Championship First Round Game
The Atlantic 10 has implemented a new format to its annual postseason tournament, with the top two teams earning byes and the remaining 12 teams playing on the home sites of seeds three through eight next weekend, before heading to Richmond the following weekend for the remaining contests. Fordham is guaranteed to host a first round game next Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m. There is currently no place online to order tickets yet but you can call the Fordham Ticket Office at 718.817.4759 for more information, which will become available over the coming week.
 
Up Next
Last game of the regular season! Fordham travels to La Salle for final seeding for next weekend's first round of the 2017 A-10 Championship. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22.