Women's Basketball Opens A-10 Championship with Win Over Davidson

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Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham women's basketball team kicked off its 2017 postseason with a big home victory over Davidson, 62-54, in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. With the new format introduced by the league this year, seeds one and two received first round byes, while seeds three through eight hosts the bottom six teams. The fifth-placed Rams used an 11-0 run to start the second half to erase a slim halftime deficit and coasted from that point on towards their eighth postseason victory under Stephanie Gaitley. The Rams improved to 21-10 on the year, while the Wildcats fell to 6-23.
 
"I'm really proud of the team to respond to a tough first half," Gaitley said, "Thank you to our entire Fordham community for helping us knock off Davidson and advance to the quarterfinals."
 
Junior G'mrice Davis was a force on both ends of the court this afternoon, especially with her offensive game, tallying her 21^st double-double of the year with 17 points and 16 rebounds, despite being saddled with four fouls for most of the fourth quarter. Freshman Kate Kreslina and senior Danielle Burns both chipped in 11 points, as well, and Fordham, as a whole, limited itself to just nine turnovers.
 
The Wildcats came out of the gate on fire from all over the court, hitting 54.2% of their attempts in the first half, but Davis had an answer for nearly every Davidson make in the first quarter, notching nine of the team's first 14 points. Mackenzie Latt, Justine Lyon, and Chloe Johnson combined for 26 first-half points and, although no other Ram scored more than five in the half, five different players stepped up with big three-pointers to keep the deficit at two at halftime, 31-29. The Rams closed out the half on a 9-7 run with threes by Kreslina, Hannah Missry, and Asnate Fomina, to get the home crowd on their feet each time.
 
The Rams came out firing in the second half, running up 11 unanswered points out of the break. Davis dropped a quick basket on the first possession and then Kreslina and Missry went back-to-back from downtown to give Fordham a six-point lead, 37-31. A minute later and Kreslina found herself wide open from the wing, draining her third triple of the contest to force a timeout by Davidson head coach Michele Savage. Kyla Roland stopped the bleeding and Latt added a jumper around a Kreslina layup, but Burns notched her first of 11 second-half points with a three from the left wing to push the lead into double figures, 45-35, with two-plus minutes to go in the third.
 
Fordham outscored the Wildcats, 17-6, in the period, and took a 46-37 lead into the final frame. Davidson, who had just scored the final basket of the third, scored five of the first seven points of the fourth over the opening four and a half minutes to bring the deficit back down to six, 50-44, but the Wildcats couldn't get anything going on offense against a stout Fordham defense. The Rams first six points of the fourth all came from Burns, four from the line and two off a jumper with just over three minutes to play. From that point on, the Rams hit 10-of-12 from the line to secure the victory, never letting the lead slip below eight.
 
Davidson outshot Fordham, 43.1% to 31.0%, but the Rams hit 9-of-25 three-pointers compared to the Wildcats' one. The Rams also grabbed more boards, 39-36, including winning the battle of the offensive glass, 14-6, to extend possessions throughout the contest. It was the seventh straight game in which Fordham has outrebounded or had the same amount as its opponents. The Rams made 17-of-24 free throws, the fourth-most makes of the season.
 
The Rams now head to Richmond, Va. to take on fourth-place Saint Louis in the A-10 Championship quarterfinals this Friday, March 3, at 2 p.m. That game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network (ASN).
 
 
 
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