No. 8 UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FLYERS (24-7, 11-3 A-10) VS.
No. 9 TCU HORNED FROGS (22-8, 12-4 MWC)
NCAA FIRST ROUND - MARCH 20, 2010 - 2:30 pm ET
Venue: Knoxville, Tennessee (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Court: The Summitt
TV: ESPN 2 (Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien and Analyst Doris Burke)
Live Stats: DaytonFlyers.com
Photo Gallery | Postseason Guide
SERIES STUFF
· This is the first NCAA D-I Tournament berth for the Flyers.
· This is Dayton’s first meeting against TCU; they have no common opponents this season.
· UD is 2-1 all-time against current Mountain West Conference opponents.
· The Flyers are 0-1 playing in Knoxville, Tenn. UD fell to the Lady Vols, 66-40 on Dec. 4, 1986, a year after becoming a D-I program.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• UD Coach Jim Jabir was named one of 10 finalists for the inaugural Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award.
• Jabir became the second all-time winningest coach at UD, taking No. 109 with UD’s 72-42 win over Fordham Feb. 11. Coach Jabir has taken the Flyers from three wins to three 20-plus win seasons in just seven years.
• Dayton has an RPI of 36 as of March 15; the third-best RPI of Atlantic 10 schools. The A-10’s RPI is ranked 10th of the the 33 conferences in the country.
• The Flyers have quality wins over Georgetown (RPI 13), Michigan State (RPI 20), Temple (RPI 32), St. Bonaventure (RPI 67), Richmond (88) and Purdue (RPI 92).
• The Flyers have received votes in either the AP or USA Today/ESPN Polls for 18 consecutive weeks.
• At 24-7 UD has now posted three consecutive 20-plus win seasons. It marks just the second time it’s been accomplished in UD women’s basketball history.
• With the Flyers’ 62-46 win over La Salle they improved to 11-3 in the Atlantic 10. The 11 wins are the most since they joined the conference in 1995-96, and the second-place finish is also their best.
• Kendel Ross became the 19th UD women’s basketball player to join the 1,000-point club in Dayton’s 71-63 win over Temple on Feb. 20. Kristin Daugherty reached it a week earlier against UMass on Feb. 13. It’s the first time in UD women’s basketball history that two players have reached the feat in the same season.
• For the second consecutive season, sophomore Casey Nance leads the Flyers in blocked shots (58). Her 1.9 blocks per game are good enough for 52nd in the nation.
• Patrice Lalor’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.87 is 34th in the NCAA and tied for first in the A-10. She has cut 29 turnovers from her freshman year when she had a 1.23 ratio.
• The Flyers are second in the A-10 in scoring margin +12.9 (23rd in NCAA). They are third in field goal percentage (42.3) and field goal percentage defense (36.4). No. 5 Xavier is the only other team in the top three in both categories. UD is 20th in the nation in rebounding margin (+6.3).
• The Flyers have outscored opponents 1090-814 in the first half this season, and 1098-972 in the second.
• Dayton tied Xavier for a league-high with five players honored on the A-10 All-Conference Teams. The five players is the most in history for UD.
POSTSEASON PLAY
· This is the first trip to the NCAA D-I Tournament. The Flyers have been NCAA D-I members since 1984-1985.
· The Flyers earned a berth to the WNIT in 2007-08 and 2008-09, the first time in modern program history that Dayton made the postseason in two consecutive seasons.
· Last year UD registered its first postseason win in the modern era with a 70-55 win over Oakland in the first round of WNIT action on March 19, 2009. The Flyers were eliminated from the WNIT by Indiana after the Hoosiers made a shot with .08 seconds remaining on the clock to go up 59-57.
· The Flyers won the AIAW Division II National Championship in 1979-80 and were runners-up in 1978-79. They were NCAA D-II semifinalists in 1983-84.
· Current UD Head Coach Jim Jabir led Marquette to back-to-back NCAA appearances in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Jabir was head coach of the Golden Eagles from 1990-91 to 1995-96.
· Flyer assistant coaches Kyle Rechlicz, Lesley Dickinson and Angie Russell also have Tournament experience. Rechlicz advanced to the tournament twice as a player for the Wisconsin Badgers, and Dickinson advanced to the NCAA Tournament her senior year playing for James Madison. Russell was an assistant coach at Cleveland State when the Vikings advanced in 2007-08.
DAYTON MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH
The University of Dayton women’s basketball team has put together one of the most memorable seasons, and just added another highlight by earning the program’s first-ever NCAA berth. The Flyers received an at-large berth as the No. 8 seed. They will take on the No. 9-seeded Texas Christian University this Saturday, March 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Dayton had a tremendous year leading up to the NCAA postseason, finishing with a 24-7 overall record, the second-best mark in UD women’s basketball in the modern era. For the first time in program history UD knocked off a Top 10 team, defeating No. 10 Michigan State 77-74. UD toppled three teams in three days to claim the Purdue BTI Classic championship. Dayton entered the AP and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for the first time, reaching as high as No. 20 in both polls. The Flyers won a program-best 11 A-10 games.
FLYERS’ LAST TIME OUT
Dayton’s comeback bid for its first-ever Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship final appearance fell short in a 67-64 overtime loss to Temple at Show Place Arena. Dayton’s record dropped to 24-7, while the Owls improved to 24-7. The Flyers led 64-59 two minutes into the overtime, starting the period on a 7-2 run with a jumper by Justine Raterman and a layup and three free throws by Kristin Daugherty. However, the Owls used an 8-0 run to close out the last three minutes, taking the victory and earning a chance for the A-10 title. Raterman scored a game-high 19 points, including the jumper with five seconds on the clock to force overtime.
BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER
University of Dayton women's basketball players Casey Nance and Staci Willis celebrated their birthdays on Monday, March 15. Nance and Willis, along with all the other Flyers, learned they earned the Flyers' first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament berth. More than 300 Flyer fans, family and administration gathered at The Hangar at Kennedy Union to celebrate the great accomplishment.
LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of the No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 TCU game will go on to face the winner of the No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 16 Austin Peay game. Tip-off for the second round game is Monday at approximately 7 p.m.
