Dayton Flyers

Boxscore

CINCINNATI –  The University of Dayton women’s basketball team nearly upset No. 9 Xavier (12-2, 1-0 A-10) in both teams’ Atlantic 10 opener, but fell short in the final seconds, 63-59, in front of 2,769 fans at the Cintas Center Sunday on the ESPN2 televised game.

Sophomore Kari Daugherty led UD with 19 points, tying her career high. Sophomore Sam MacKay added a career-high 12 points and tied a career-high with five assists. Junior Justine Raterman also added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.

The 59 points was the second-lowest scoring total for the Flyers this season (the lowest was 55 in a loss to Louisville).

The Flyers (9-6 overall, 0-1 A-10) got off to a slow start falling behind 14 points, 23-9, midway through the first half.  UD came storming back with a 22-3 run to take its largest lead of the half, 31-26, on a Casey Nance layup with 2:39 to play. In the midst of that run, Dayton took its first lead of the game, 26-25, on back-to-back treys by Kari Daugherty who led UD with eight first-half points. Raterman added seven points in the first half.

Xavier’s  Tyeasha Moss knocked down two free throws and three-pointer to even the score at 31-all for the halftime score.

The Flyers found themselves down by 11 with 9:30 left to play in the game. Kari Daugherty cut the lead to six with back-to-back field goals to make the score 55-49. After a steal by Raterman, UD got within three on a trey by MacKay with 5:22 to go in the game.

MacKay hit again with 27 seconds left, this time on a driving layup to get UD within two, 61-59. Raterman nearly had her fourth steal of the night, but Xavier’s Amber Harris was able to pull in the ball. Raterman fouled to send Harris to the line for a one-and-one. She missed the first shot but Xavier pulled down the offensive rebound. The Flyers fouled again and this time Harris converted both free throws for the final margin of victory. Harris led all scorers with 23 points.

The Flyers continue a three-game road swing when they play at Saint Louis in an Atlantic 10 matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. ET.