Women's Basketball Face Saint Louis in A-10 Quarterfinals Friday

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Richmond, Va. – Fordham (21-10, 11-5 A-10) secured its fourth 20-win season under head coach Stephanie Gaitley with a thrilling double-overtime win at La Salle last Wednesday night, securing the five seed in the process. The Rams dropped Davidson, 62-54, in the first round of the new A-10 Championship format and now face #4 Saint Louis (23-7, 12-4 A-10) on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Richmond, Va.
 
Tickets are available on-site each day. Tickets for adults on Friday are $25 and then $20 over the next two days. Alternatively, fans can purchase a weekend pass for $65.
 
Last Time Out vs. Davidson
The Rams trailed, 31-29, at halftime to the Wildcats but rebounded with a 17-6 run over the third period to retake the lead and hold it for good, sinking 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch. G'mrice Davis compiled her 21st double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while both Kate Kreslina and Danielle Burns chipped in 11 points. Fordham limited itself to just nine turnovers in the game. Davidson sank 54.2% of its shots in the first half but Davis' big first quarter and five different Rams sinking a three in the second period kept the deficit to just two at the break. The Rams scored 11 unanswered points to start the second half to take a 46-37 lead heading into the final frame. The Wildcats would get the lead down to six on two occasions but Fordham's defense kept them from getting closer. The Rams hit just 31.0% of their shots overall on the day but hit 9-of-25 shots from behind the arc compared to Davidson's lone make in 11 attempts. Fordham outrebounded its opponent for the seventh straight game and hit 17 free throws that afternoon, fourth-most of the yer.
 
Series History vs. Saint Louis
Saint Louis holds an 8-6 all-time series lead since 2006, when the Billikens joined the A-10. Before Saint Louis picked up the regular season victory earlier this year, 82-58, at Chaifetz Arena, the two schools had previously alternated five-game winning streaks since Fordham's initial victory in the Bronx in 2006. In late January, Davis notched 20 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes, while Kreslina added 13 point on 5-of-10 shooting, and Anna Kelly chipped in 11 points and a personal-best nine boards in 22 minutes off the bench. Fordham shot just 2-of-20 from behind the arc, while Saint Louis hit 10-of-20 from deep, led by Jordyn Frantz and Jenny Vliet each shooting 4-of-5 from downtown. Sadie Stipanovich turned in an efficient game of 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from inside the arc over just 28 minutes, while A-10 Player of the Year Jackie Kemph tallied 15 points, four boards, and seven assists in 37 minutes. The two schools have met once before in the A-10 Championship, a 65-48 win for Fordham in the 2013 quarterfinals being the other.
 
Scouting the Billikens
Saint Louis fell to the four seed by losing on the road to co-regular season champion Dayton, 68-62, last Wednesday night. Before that, the Billikens had won eight of their previous nine games dating back to mid-January. Junior point guard Jackie Kemph was named the conference's Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, while Sadie Stipanovich joined Kemph on the First Team. Kemph is the school's all-time leader in assists (638) and is the only Billiken to have 1,000 points and 500 assists. Over the last 10 games, the junior is averaging 16.3 points per contest with 39 assists to just 10 turnovers. Stipanovich has also been playing extremely well, hitting 57.4% of her shots over her last 12 games. Led by Kemph, Saint Louis is third in the country with a 1.53:1 assist-turnover ratio and sixth in assists per game (18.9). As a team, they are extremely disciplined in limiting turnovers, ranked 16th in Division I with just 12.4 per game. They do this while also ranking in the top-50 in scoring offense (74.6) and field goal percentage (44.4%).
 
Davis Named First-Team All-Conference
Junior forward G'mrice Davis has enjoyed a tremendous campaign and was rewarded for her performance with both First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team recognition. She is the second Ram to ever garner first team honors in the A-10 behind Erin Rooney and the third to be named All-Defensive, with the most recent being former teammate Samantha Clark last season. Davis has led the Rams with 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game this year, with 21 double-doubles, and has been ranked second nationally among the major rebounding categories for nearly the entire year. She is the second Ram to ever average more than 10 boards per game and her 389 rebounds rank fifth all-time in program history.
 
Kreslina, Missry Garner End-of-Season Accolades
Redshirt freshman Kate Kreslina earned All-Rookie honors by starting all 28 contests that she was available for this season and providing a steady presence with her terrific two-way play. The Latvian international has averaged 8.8 points per game on 39.8% shooting from the field and 37.9% from behind the arc, while playing just 27.6 minutes per contest. Kreslina is third in the squad with 86 rebounds, fourth with 49 assists, and fourth with 33 three-pointers. Senior Hannah Missry earned All-Academic honors for her efforts on and off the court. Missry finished her undergraduate degree in three years and is expected to attain her Master's degree in May in Media Management, holding a 3.9 GPA in her grad studies adn a 3.74 GPA in undergrad. She also recently became the third student-athlete to make 300 threes in Atlantic-10 history and is Fordham's all-time leader from behind the arc by a wide margin, 67 more than Heather Donlon '93.
 
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 174 but needs 67 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
Last 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 tied for 15th, with fellow three-point extrodinaire Heather Donlon '93, with 1,121 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  masters program as seniors, was told. Interestingly, all three are also earning the same degree -- Media Management.
 
Conference-Only
Fordham finished league play with a 11-5, good for fifth place. It had been a roller coaster ride for the Rams in conference action, first matching the program's best-ever start, 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 then two straight thrilling wins to wrap up the regular season. Fordham outscored opponents 60.4 to 54.4 (+6.0) with G'mrice Davis leading the way with 15.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game and 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 converted her attempts at a 49.3% clip.  Danielle Burns, Kate Kreslina, Hannah Missry, and Lauren Holden all chipped 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 had 29 despite playing just 13.6 minutes off the bench. Hannah Missry hit 39.6% of her A-10 three-point attempts (36-of-91) and averaged 8.6 points per game. Kate Kreslina shot 37.6% from the floor, while Anna Kelly converted at a 43.5% rate off the bench. 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 20 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 16.3 points and 13.0 rebounds per contest on 48.7% 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 and the Rams went 14-6 as a team.
 
The Bronx is Our House
The Rams are 16-3 this season in the Bronx, as opposed to a 4-6 record on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. They are 7-1 at home during conference play for the second year in a row. Since Stephanie Gaitley took over before the 2011-12 season, Fordham holds a 71-24 (74.7%) record at home and a 66-16 (80.5%) record over the last five seasons.
 
60 is the Magic Number?
The Rams are 14-0 when scoring 60 or more points this season. Fordham is also 10-1 when holding opponents under 50 points (and 12-1 when holding them at 52 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 128th career appearance against Davidson on Sunday. She has made 70 overall starts, including a stretch of 47 straight, before coming off the bench the past six games. Hannah Missry is a four-year starter who has made 119 starts in 124 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. Burns has tied both Anne Gregory '80 and former teammate Abigail Corning '14 for third all-time, while Missry is two games away. Padovano recently played in her 119th game as a Ram against La Salle last week and will become the seventh Ram to reach the 120-game mark should she check in against Saint Louis. 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 31 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 26.8% (97-for-368) shooting from beyond the arc, currently situated at 8th nationally. The Rams had been in the top-25 for several weeks before VCU (4-of-8) and Saint Louis (10-of-20) each hit 50% of their attempts, but Fordham has held its last six opponents to just 15-of-82 shooting from deep (18.3%).
 
Three and D
Fordham is 69th in the country in three-point attempts (608) and 68th in makes (202), 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 26.8% from deep (8th in the nation).
 
A-10 Ranks
The Rams are back atop the league in scoring defense (55.6 pts/game), free throw percentage (75.2%), three-point defense (26.8%), and rebounding defense, holding opponents to just 33.2 boards per game. Fordham is also fourth in scoring margin (+4.3), field goal percentage (39.5%), assist/turnover ratio (0.8), three-pointers per game (6.4), and three-point shooting (33.2%). On the individual level, G'mrice Davis' 12.5 rebounds per game leads the league as does her 10.0 defensive boards. Davis' 48.4% 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 37.9% and 34.8% 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 3/1/17): Davis' 389 rebounds, 10.0 defensive rebounds per game and 12.5 rebounding average are all second in the nation. Additionally, her 21 double-doubles rank second, as well. Davis has tallied 12 or more rebounds in 18 contests and has notched double-doubles in 17 of her last 20 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 31 games. She will be just the second Ram to ever grab double figure rebounds per contest over a season. Davis' 389 boards currently rank fifth-most in a single season and her 8.0 career average is third-highest in program history, tied with Nicole Williams '92.
 
Actively One of the Best from Deep
Hannah Missry has amassed 303 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 two 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 64-of-184 from deep (34.8%) and has enjoyed some success in recent games, hitting between two and five triples in 11 of the last 17 contests. Her 2.1 per-game average is fourth in the conference.
 
36 To Go
Missry is 36 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.
 
Fordham's Charity
Fordham is 31st in the country thus far with a 75.2% 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.
 
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 advance past the Billikens, they will face the winner of #1 Dayton and #8 VCU on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. on CBS Sports Network.