WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Saint Louis at Fordham
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 • Noon CST
WHERE: Rose Hill Gym • Bronx, New York
RECORDS: SLU 8-7, 2-0 Atlantic 10; Fordham 11-4, 2-0 Atlantic 10
SLU-FORDHAM SERIES: SLU leads 9-6 overall and has won four straight; teams tied 3-3 at Fordham
SLU-FORDHAM LAST MEETING: SLU 68, Fordham 58 (3/3/17) RECAP
BILLIKENS’ LAST GAME: SLU 79, at Richmond 61 (Jan. 3) RECAP
RAMS’ LAST GAME: Fordham 62, at Massachusetts 51 (Jan. 3) RECAP
UP NEXT FOR THE BILLIKENS: at Dayton • Sunday, Jan. 14 • 1 p.m. CST • Dayton, Ohio
GAME NOTES: Saint Louis
GAME NOTES: Fordham
TV: CBS Sports Network
LIVE AUDIO: A-10 Digital Network (Email [email protected] if you encounter difficulty.)
LIVE STATS: SIDEARM
A LOOK AT THE BILLIKENS
• Coming off a 79-61 victory at Richmond that extended their season-long winning streak to four games, the Saint Louis Billikens play the second of three straight road contests when they take on the Fordham Rams Saturday, Jan. 6.
• Fordham also owns a four-game winning streak. The Billikens and Rams share the top spot for longest current winning streak in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• SLU is aiming for a second consecutive 3-0 start in league play. The Billikens won their first four A-10 games a year ago.
• Since the beginning of the 2015-16 season, the Billikens are 27-7 in A-10 play. That ties George Washington for tops in the conference.
• The Billikens feature players who lead the Atlantic 10 in three categories. Jackie Kemph is the league’s best in assists (7.5 apg) and assist-turnover ratio (2.73), while Maddison Gits leads the A-10 in field goal percentage (.579).
• Two Saint Louis players rank among the league’s top 10 rebounders. Maddison Gits is sixth with 8.5 rebounds per game, while Jenny Vliet is 10th with a 7.8 average.
• The Billikens were explosive in the second half of their first two A-10 games. SLU scored what was then a season-high 46 second-half points vs. St. Bonaventure, then exceeded that with 49 points after intermission at Richmond.
• Saint Louis has held five straight and six of its last seven opponents to under 40-percent field goal shooting. Richmond shot 25 percent Wednesday night, the lowest mark by a Billiken opponent this season.
• The Bills have pushed their season free throw accuracy to 71.9 percent by connecting on 78.8 percent (67-of-85) from the stripe over the last four games.
• SLU has been much stronger from 3-point range recently. After shooting just 29 percent from beyond the arc in their first 11 games, the Billikens have connected on 39.1 percent (34-of-87) from distance in their last four outings.
• In their last four games, the Billikens have registered an assist on 73.5 percent of their field goals. That is significantly higher than their full-season rate of 63.4 percent.
• Sixth-year head coach Lisa Stone takes a 98-77 record at Saint Louis into the Fordham game. Now in her 32nd season overall as a collegiate head coach, Stone owns a 601-314 career mark.
A LOOK AT THE RAMS
• Fordham has three starters and three additional letter winners back from last year’s team that was 22-12 overall and 11-5 (fifth place) in the A-10. The Rams reached the WNIT second round.
• Fordham has won four straight and seven of its last eight games. The Rams posted 11-point victories over George Washington and Massachusetts in their first two conference outings.
• The Rams average just 59.1 points on offense but lead the A-10 in scoring defense, yielding only 53.9 points per game. Fordham is second in the conference in rebounding margin (+7.4 rpg) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.267).
• Senior forward G’mrice Davis is back after earning spots on the All-Conference first team and the A-10 All-Defensive team a year ago. Davis leads the Rams in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (13.5 rpg); her rebounding average ranks second in the league and third in the nation.
• Redshirt-freshman guard Bre Cavanaugh carries a 15.2 scoring average, while junior guard Lauren Holden scores 10.6 points per game and leads Fordham with 31 3-pointers.
• Junior forward Mary Goulding tops the Rams’ rebounding chart with 6.4 boards per game.
