ST. BONAVENTURE at FORDHAM
Thursday, Jan. 25 - 7:00 p.m.
Bronx, N.Y.
Online Coverage - Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
BONNIES BEGIN TOUGH ROAD SWING: St. Bonaventure begins a tough road swing this week with a Thursday night contest at Fordham. The Rams enter the week in third place in the Atlantic 10 standings at 6-1 in conference play with just a 63-62 heartbreaking defeat from first-place Dayton as a blemish on their record. After Fordham, the Bonnies will then play at second-place Duquesne on Sunday afternoon in another stern test.
CALABRESE, HARVEY EARN SPOTS ON A-10 HONOR ROLL: Freshman Emily Calabrese and junior Arielle Harvey each were named to the Atlantic 10 Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after strong performances a week ago. Calabrese first scored 19 points vs. Rhode Island, then had 10 rebounds vs. Davidson and averaged 8.0 rebounds for the week. Harvey averaged 16.5 ppg, shooting better than 52 percent from the floor (11-for-21) and went 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
WEEK FOR BESTS: Last week, Bonnies players set a number of personal bests. Emily Calabrese netted a career high 19 points in last Wednesday's win over Rhode Island, then on Saturday vs. Davidson, hauled in 10 rebounds for another career high. Also in Saturday's game, Arielle Harvey posted 21 points, her highest total in an SBU uniform, while sophomore Rhianna Council also registered a career high 12 points in 30 minutes, also her Bonnies high. Sophomore Jalisha Terry added nine assists and four steals against Davidson, career highs as well.
RUFF AMONG A-10 LEADERS: In Saturday's contest vs. Davidson, senior Mariah Ruff finished with nine points to break a string of 10 consecutive games in which she had scored in double figures. Ruff continues to rank second in the Atlantic 10 during conference play at 21.0 ppg over seven games (entering this week's games). For the season, she stands eighth in scoring (15.7 ppg), second in assists (4.6 apg) and fourth in 3s (52). Seven points on Thursday will move Ruff into 12th place in Bonnies all-time scoring (1,256 points).
COUNCIL COMING ON: Sophomore Rhianna Council has been playing some of the best basketball of her career as of late. Council, who has scored her career high in back-to-back games, is averaging 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game over the past three contests while shooting over 64 percent (11-for-17) from the floor.
THREE-POINT THREATS: Sophomore Danielle Migliore and senior Mariah Ruff are one of the most prolific three-point shooting duos in the Atlantic 10 this season. Ruff ranks fourth in the A-10 with 52 3s, just ahead of Migliore's 47. With 99 combined treys this year, only one A-10 duo - Duquesne's Julijana Vojinovic and Chassidy Omogrosso (108) - has combined for more 3-pointers this year.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: St. Bonaventure has shown vast improvement on the offensive side of the ball this season. After ranking near the bottom of the league with 55.6 ppg last year, the Bonnies are currently seventh in the league since A-10 play began at 65.2 ppg. Bona was one of the league's worst three-point shooting teams last year as well at 25.7 percent for the season while hitting just 3.7 3s per game on average. This year, SBU ranks second in the league at 7.9 3s per game while shooting 33.7 percent from long range.
TERRY TERRIFIC: Sophomore Jalisha Terry has shown growth over the past month, reclaiming the starting point guard job to begin Atlantic 10 play. In the seven conference games, Terry has averaged 10.0 points and 4.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per contest. Her 34 assists in A-10 play rank third in the league.
ARC ACE: Senior Mariah Ruff has been the most prolific three-point shooter in the Atlantic 10 since conference play. Ruff has hit an A-10 high 26 3s (3.7 per game), one of only two players entering the week with over 20 3s in A-10 action along with Dayton's Lauren Cannatelli (23).
BONA VS. FORDHAM - SERIES HISTORY
Thursday marks the 39th meeting all-time between the Bonnies and Fordham. St. Bonaventure leads the all-time series, 22-16. While St. Bonaventure has won 13 of 18 meetings at the Reilly Center, Fordham holds a 10-8 all-time edge in Rose Hill Gym. St. Bonaventure last won in the Bronx on Feb. 19, 2011, 62-52. Fordham has won the last three meetings in the series including home-and-home series wins last season.
ABOUT FORDHAM
- Fordham enters Thursday with a 15-5 record and a 6-1 record in the Atlantic 10. The Rams defeated Richmond, 43-38, Sunday afternoon. The Rams' only loss in Atlantic 10 play came against Dayton in a, 63-62, defeat on Jan. 17.
- Head coach Stephanie Gaitley is in her seventh year at Fordham. She currently has 599 career wins as a head coach and has a record of 135-81 at Fordham. Gaitley has one NCAA Tournament and three NIT appearances.
- Fordham ranks seventh in the NCAA and first in the A-10 in scoring defense, allowing only 54.3 points per game. The Rams' 75.3 free throw percentage also leads the Atlantic 10. Fordham has a rebounding margin of 7.1 good enough for second in the A-10.
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