Oct. 24, 2007
Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll in PDF Format
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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The University of Dayton women's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the 14 team Atlantic 10 Conference race in poll of A-10 coaches and media, which was released on Thursday.
UD finished ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season after a 6-8 record in league play and a 12-19 mark overall. Dayton advanced to the Quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship for the second year in a row and saw 15 of its 31 contests overall decided by single digits under the direction of Head Coach Jim Jabir who is entering in fifth year at Dayton in 2007-2008.
George Washington, the 2006-2007 A-10 regular season champion, was the unanimous selection in this year preseason poll. The Colonials were followed by Xavier and Charlotte which tied for second, Temple in fourth, Richmond, Saint Joseph's and Massachusetts. UD was followed by Saint Louis in ninth place, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Rhode Island, Duquesne and Fordham. The Atlantic 10 Conference has sent five women's teams to the postseason in each of the past two seasons.
The Flyers return four starters from last season and boast a roster of six seniors including forward Nikki Oakland who was among the A-10 leaders in blocked shots (49) and the second leading scorer on the team last season (11.5 ppg). Joining her in the Flyer front court is Brittany Holterman collected 89 of her 184 rebounds off the offensive glass while ranking third on the squad in scoring (8.9 ppg.).
On the perimeter the point guard duo of Kathy Guin and Karah Cloxton run an offense that will push the ball up court in an effort to improve upon an offense that scored 64.6 ppg last season, which ranked seventh in the A-10 last season. The pair dished out 185 assists last season and held a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio to help the Flyer offense tally assists on almost 60 percent of their baskets.
The guards will be bolstered by a long-range threat in Kiki Lund and defensive stopper in Ashley Armstrong. Lund is the top returning three-point shooter on the team with 32 treys last season. She enters her final season at Blackburn Court ranked fourth all-time in career three-point accuracy and eighth in overall makes at UD. Armstrong is one of Dayton's best perimeter defenders as she averaged just under one steal per game last season.
Fans will have their first opportunity to see the 2007-2008 Flyer women's basketball team in action on Saturday at the annual Red & Blue Game. Doors open at UD Arena at 9 a.m. ET with free donuts and milk are available for the first 500 fans in attendance. Also the first 2,000 fans will receive free UD flags and all will get vouchers for free admission to Saturday's football game between Dayton and San Diego at Welcome Stadium.
