Dayton Flyers

Feb. 8, 2007

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DAYTON, Ohio - Homestanding Dayton used 13 second-half points from junior Karah Cloxton to secure a 59-57 come-from-behind victory over La Salle on Thursday night at UD Arena.

Cloxton was 5-for-7 from the field to score all 13 of her points in the second half to help Dayton (9-15, 4-5 A-10) overcome a seven-point second half deficit.

Junior Nikki Oakland also had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Flyers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. UD also took advantage of 15 Explorer mistakes for an 18-7 advantage at points off turnovers.

La Salle (16-9, 4-6 A-10) was led by 20 points from Carlene Hightower and 10 points each from Crista Ricketts and Morgan Robertson.

The Dayton defense was strong early on as they forced four turnovers on La Salle's first five possessions. The Flyer offense scored on six of its first seven possessions to take an early 12-2 lead. UD's lead included 10 straight points by five different Flyers. Nikki Oakland had four of the Flyers' first 12 followed by two-point baskets from Kathy Guin, Brittany Holterman, Jennifer Strong, and Kiki Lund.

La Salle answered back with a 30-12 run for the remainder of the first half behind Hightower and Crista Ricketts who helped the Explorers take a 32-26 lead into the locker room. Ricketts had 10 points and Hightower had 13 of her own, along with six rebounds in the first session while La Salle as a team shot 54% from the field.

Dayton and La Salle traded baskets to begin the second half. Dayton would tie the game at 44-44 behind a free throw by Nikki Oakland and two straight jumpers and the first Dayton three of the game by Karah Cloxton with 7:07 left in the second half. Dayton did not allow a field goal for five minutes while chipping away at the Explorer lead.

Cloxton carried UD by scoring 10 of the Flyers' 13 points for an eight-minute span. Dayton would regain the lead on a Kendal Ross put back with 2:50 left in the game. The Flyers would not trail again, extending their margin thanks to a lay-up by Nikki Oakland, a free throw by Karah Cloxton, a pair of free throws by Kendel Ross, and a free throw by Kathy Guin.

After an injury to the Flyers' Brittany Holterman with 12:36 left in the second half, Dayton would outscore La Salle 23-15 including a last-second three by La Salle's Jamie Walsh as time expired.

Dayton returns to action on Sunday at Xavier at 2 p.m. ET to resume a stretch with four of five games on the road. The game will be televised nationally on CSTV and can be heard locally on WHIO Radio. The next Flyer home game will be Senior Day and Basketball Alumni Weekend on Saturday February 17 against Saint Joseph's at 12:00p.m.