DU Women vs. Fordham Preview
by Rogabee
Duquesne enters the game at 15-3, #42 RPI, 4-0 in the conference, and looking for their first ever 5-0 start in conference play. Fordham enters also 4-0 in conference play (#85 RPI), and the winner will remain as one of only three unbeaten teams left in the A10 along with Dayton and Saint Joe's. Fordham has won 10 of their last 11.
Key Players for Fordham
Fordham is led by Marah Strickland, a 6th year senior transfer from South Carolina (previously went to Maryland before transferring to South Carolina). A previous Parade and McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, Marah is one of the very few players in the A10 who can create her own shot. Plays the PF as a 6-footer, and should be a good challenge for Orsi to contain.
Erin Rooney will start for Fordham at PG. Another transfer, Erin (junior eligibility) came to Fordham from Monmouth, I'm presuming to follow Coach Gaitley, who came to Fordham from Monmouth. Erin is a very solid defensive player in addition to providing 13.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, and 3.1 apg.
Samantha Clark is a player rounding into form for the Rams. A top 100 recruit by all scouting services - including some in the top 75 - Clark had to find her way onto the floor early on in the year coming off the bench. The 6-2 center still likes playing outside (and can hit her share of threes), but she's a strong, powerful young woman who can also finish well. Also has decent ballhandling skills if we try to trap her. Since conference play has started, Clark leads the A10 in blocks, including registering consecutive 6 block games against UMass and Richmond.
Abagail Corning and Arielle Collins - both upperclass guards - round out the starting 5 for Fordham in Fordham's three-guard system.
Charlotte Stoddard, while listed at 6-1, played as much like a guard as a forward in the only Fordham game I saw, will be the first player off the bench.
---
Miscellaneous:
Fordham is allowing only 51.5 ppg, second in the A10 to Duquesne's 50.1 ppg. If you're a fan of some hard-nosed defense, the AJP is the right place to be. If you want scoring, look elsewhere.
Older folks than me may remember Coach Gaitley of Fordham having success at Richmond and St. Joe's. She got Richmond to the dance twice and the Hawks dancing five times, including two A10 championships.
Fordham is 6th in the country in fouls committed, 14th in the country in turnovers committed.
The Dukes won at Fordham by 6 last year in a back-and-forth game. Duquesne scored the last 7 points after trailing 50-49 to win 56-50.
Going back to last year, Fordham owns the longest current win streak in A10 play at 8.
From the looks of it, Fordham is a team that started to come into their own after a rough month of December, possibly to the transfer effect as well as Samantha Clark starting to play up to her potential. I'm glad we get the Rams somewhat early in the A10 slate.
We don't want to get in a free-throw shooting contest with Fordham. Strickland and Rooney are both hitting 86% of their FTs...
---
Hope to see some of you at the game.
