Women's Basketball Hosts Davidson in First Round of A-10 Championship

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Bronx, N.Y. – The 2016-17 regular season is a thing of the past, already. Fordham (20-10, 11-5 A-10) secured its fourth 20-win season under head coach Stephanie Gaitley with a thrilling double-overtime win at La Salle on Wednesday night. The Rams also locked up fifth place in the league and will now host Davidson (6-22, 4-12 A-10) on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the new Atlantic 10 Championship format, featuring first round games on home sites before heading to Richmond, Va. for the final three rounds next weekend.

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Last Time Out at La Salle
The Rams finished the first quarter strong, scored a season-low two points in the next period, led for most of the second half, hit a buzzer beater to force overtime, and held on for their second double-overtime win of the year. It was an up-and-down affair in the City of Brotherly Love in midweek, with all the highs and lows Fordham has shown this season. La Salle's Amy Griffin put on a show, scoring more than half of her team's points, a career-high 37 on an astounding 18-of-32 shooting, including 15-of-23 in regulation, while the Rams got help from several places, most notably G'mrice Davis' 20th double-double of the year of 14 points and 14 rebounds in a career-high 41 minutes. Fordham finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run, forcing two consecutive turnovers, but struggled mightily from the field over the next 10 minutes to trail by five, 21-16, at the half. Fordham came out of the break with vigor and retook the lead, holding it for nearly all of the second stanza until La Salle made a run towards the end. G'mrice Davis had a look with five seconds to go that barely missed but was last touched by an Explorer, giving the Rams, and Davis, another look, which the junior would convert at the buzzer on a turnaround jumper in the lane. The initial period of overtime was slow, with the hosts holding a 4-1 lead until Hannah Missry hit a critical corner three to tie the game with 15 seconds left. In double overtime, the Rams locked down on defense and converted their chances, coasting to the five-point win.
 
Series History Davidson
Fordham holds a 4-2 all-time record since the Wildcats joined the Atlantic 10 three seasons ago. The two schools met twice this year and split home and away, first with an offensive 85-72 home victory in the Bronx, followed by a Valentine's Day heartbreaker on the road, falling in the final seconds. In the former, the Rams enjoyed their first 50% shooting performance of the year, hitting 28-of-54 shots (51.9%) and 6-of-15 from behind the arc (40%), led by a career-best 27 points from G'mrice Davis, who hit a career-high 11 field goals on 17 attempts. Freshman Anna Kelly also broke through with her finest performance to-date, 18 points off the bench on a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Hannah Missry and Kate Kreslina each chipped in 14 points, as well, on a combined 6-of-9 shooting from downtown. Two weeks ago, much like Wednesday's game at La Salle, Fordham's opponents took and made a lot of two-pointers. Justine Lyon tallied 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting rom the field and her and Chloe Johnson took over in the second half after Mackenzie Latt went down with an injury. Fordham shot just 30% overall, with only Davis (13 points, 11 rebounds) finishing in double figures, despite grabbing 43 rebounds, 19 on the offensive glass (notching just 11 second-chance points).
 
Scouting the Wildcats
Latt hasn't seen the floor since getting injured against the Rams and during that time, the Wildcats have dropped games against Saint Joseph's and VCU, both on the road. On the year, Davidson is just 1-11 on the road, with the lone win coming earlier this month at Massachusetts. Without Lyon, Justine Lyon has averaged 24.0 points over the last two games with just Amy Welling off the bench against Saint Joseph's serving as the only other player in double figures. Latt, on the year, averages 13.6 points per game and 7.3 rebounds plus team-highs of 27 blocks and 47 steals over a team-high 32.9 minutes per game. Lyon has been a do-it-all guard in conference play and especially over the last two and a half games.
 
Gaitley Makes History
Stephanie Gaitley reached 100 wins with the Fordham program against Little Rock on November 19 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. She has now reached 116 wins at three different schools: Fordham, Richmond, and Saint Joseph's.
 
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.
 
20 Wins
Wednesday's 66-61 double overtime win at La Salle was Fordham's 20th win of the season. It is the fourth time under Stephanie Gaitley that the Rams have amassed 20 or more wins. It is the 16th season that Gaitley has personally won 20 or more out of 31 seasons. Previously, there had been just five 20-win seasons in program history -- three with Kathy Mosolino (1977-80), one with Christina Wielgus (1991-92), and one with Kevin Morris (1993-94).
 
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 1,115 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 be 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 11-5 in conference play and sit in fifth place in the league. 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, then winning three in a row at home before a last-second loss at Davidson and now two straight thrilling wins to wrap up the regular season. Fordham is outscoring opponents 60.4 to 54.4 (+6.0). G'mrice Davis leads the way with 15.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game and has a double-double in all but three games - against Duquesne where she missed it by one point (9 pts, 10 reb), Dayton where she missed by one rebound, and at St. Bonaventure where she finished with just seven boards. The junior is also converting her attempts at a 49.3% clip.  Danielle Burns, Kate Kreslina, Hannah Missry, and Lauren Holden are all chipping in between 9.3 and 8.0 points per game, as well, with Burns leading the squad with 34 assists, five more than Asnate Fomina, who has 29 despite playing just 13.6 minutes off the bench. Hannah Missry has hit 39.6% of her A-10 three-point attempts (36-of-91) and averages 8.6 points per game. Kate Kreslina is shooting 37.6% from the floor, while Anna Kelly has been solid off the bench, converting at a 43.5% rate. 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 19 games, scoring in double figures in every contest and missing out on a double-double just three times. Since a season-low four points against St. John's at home, the junior has been averaging 16.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per contest on 49.5% shooting to go with 11 blocks and 18 steals across a team-high 34.0 minutes. During the stretch, Davis collected two A-10 Player of the Week honors.
 
The Bronx is Our House
The Rams are 15-3 this season in the Bronx, as opposed to a 4-6 record on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. They are also 7-1 at home during conference play. Fordham began this season with six straight home victories and has now a three-game and four-game home winning streak, including the latest one.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
The Rams are 13-0 when scoring 60 or more points this season. Fordham is also 10-1 when holding opponents under 50 points (and 11-1 when holding them at 51 or under).
 
Iron Women
Seniors Danielle Burns, Hannah Missry, and Danielle Padovano have been three 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 127th career appearance against La Salle. She has made 70 overall starts, including a stretch of 47 straight, before coming off the bench the past five games. Hannah Missry is a four-year starter who has made 118 starts in 123 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 one and three appearances, respectively, from passing both Anne Gregory '80 and former teammate Abigail Corning '14 for third all-time. Padovano recently played in her 119th game as a Ram against the Explorers and will become the seventh Ram to reach the 120-game mark should she check into the game. All three are in the top-10 in career games played.
 
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 30 games this season, Fordham's defense has limited opposing scoring to just 55.6 points per contest, ranking 20th in the country. Part of that is due to the Rams' stingy perimeter D that has held opponents to just 26.9% (96-for-357) shooting from beyond the arc, currently situated at 12th 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 14-of-71 shooting from deep (19.7%).
 
Three and D
Fordham is 66th in the country in three-point attempts (583) and 64th in makes (193), improvements made with a season-best 16-of-30 performance against UMass, while playing terrific defense along the perimeter that has led to teams shooting just 26.9% from deep (12th in the nation).
 
A-10 Ranks
The Rams are back atop the league in scoring defense (55.6 pts/game), free throw percentage (75.4%), three-point defense (27.2%), and rebounding defense, holding opponents to just 33.2 boards per game. Fordham is also fourth in scoring margin (+4.2), field goal percentage (39.5%), assist/turnover ratio (0.8), three-pointers per game (6.4), and three-point shooting (33.1%). On the individual level, G'mrice Davis' 12.4 rebounds per game leads the league as does her 9.9 defensive boards. Davis' 48.8% percentage from the field ranks fourth. Hannah Missry's 2.1 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 eighth with 36.1% and 35.4% 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 2/24/17): Davis' 373 rebounds, 9.9 defensive rebounds per game and 12.4 rebounding average are all second in the nation. Additionally, her 20 double-doubles rank second, as well. Davis has tallied 12 or more rebounds in 17 contests and has notched double-doubles in 16 of her last 19 contests.
 
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 matches that through 30 games. She will be just the second Ram to ever grab double figure rebounds per contest over a season. Davis' 373 boards 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 301 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 four more to pass Nicole Levandusky (Xavier '98-'01) for second. Missry is the third player in Atlantic 10 history to reach 300 career threes.
 
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 La Salle in double overtime, Davis played 41 minutes, a new career-best after hitting the 40-minute mark three times during the regular season.
 
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 62-of-175 from deep (35.4%) and has enjoyed some success in recent games, hitting between two and five triples in 10 of the last 16 contests. Her 2.1 per-game average is fourth in the conference.
 
38 To Go
Missry is 38 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 Pine
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 enjoyed a solid game at La Salle on Wednesday, chipping in 10 points.
 
Fordham's Charity
Fordham is 31st in the country thus far with a 75.4% clip from the free throw line. The Rams have spent a large portion of this season atop the A-10 leaderboards. That current mark would be the third-best in program history. The Rams hit a season-high 23 free throws on 29 attempts the first time they faced Davidson this year, on January 4, and excelled at the line also against Saint Joseph's (15-of-17) and Dayton (16-of-20).
 
Fomina Facilitating Off the Bench
Fomina leads the team with 60 dimes, despite averaging just 14.7 minutes off the bench. Her lone start came against Davidson, playing 22 minutes and assisting on five buckets. Fomina began the year with at least one assist in each of the first 10 games, including five at Iona, and enjoyed a solid stretch of between three and five dimes in six straight contests over a three-week span from mid-December to early-January. Over her last two contests the junior has four and three, respectively.
 
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.
 
Up Next
If the Rams defeat Davidson, they will head to the Richmond Coliseum next weekend for the final three rounds of the A-10 Championship.