Dec. 2, 2006
Box Score; Quotes & Photo Gallery 
DAYTON, Ohio - Despite a 14-point, seven rebound effort from junior Brittany Holterman, the Dayton Flyers lost their second in a row with a 67-63 defeat against the Long Island University Blackbirds on Saturday at UD Arena.
Dayton's bench enjoyed a strong game as freshman Kendel Ross scored 10 points and recorded a game-high nine rebounds in a season-high 27 minutes. Junior Kathy Guin scored 11 points and dished out four assists as the Flyers dropped to 4-5 overall and 1-1 at home.
As a team, Dayton shot 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from the three-point range. However, LIU forced 21 UD turnovers and shot 49 percent from the floor.
Although the Flyers held a 38-22 advantage in rebounds against the Blackbirds, LIU excelled at the free throw line shooting 15-of-18 from the charity stripe.
LIU junior Mikaelar Whippy led the Blackbirds with a game-high 26 points. Whippy shot 10-of-12 from the field and was 2-for-2 from the three-point range.
Blackbird senior Marquita Thompson added 20 points and three rebounds, while freshman Valerie Nainima added 12 points and connected on all six free throw attempts.
UD kept the game close until the end. Junior Kiki Lund scored on a layup to cut the deficit to 64-63 with 31 seconds remaining in the second half.
Two free throws by Nainima pushed the Blackbird lead to 66-63 with 15 seconds remaining. After a UD timeout, the Flyers turned the ball over attempting to set up a three-point shot which sealed the victory for Long Island.
The Flyers led 31-29 after the first half of play thanks to seven points and three rebounds from junior Nikki Oakland. However, Oakland left the game midway through the first half with a left foot injury.
Without Oakland, LIU attacked the basket as Thompson scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half. The Blackbirds took the lead for good in the second half after Whippy drained a three-pointer to give LIU a 41-38 advantage with 15:08 remaining.
Dayton would only fall behind by as many as six in the second half as the Flyers used 18 points from their bench during the final 20 minutes including six by Ross. However, UD could not overcome a 9-for-12 effort by LIU at the free-throw line as well as 15 second-half points by Whippy and 14 from Thompson.
The Flyers return to action on Wednesday against the University of Loyola-Chicago Ramblers at UD Arena starting at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be an opener of another basketball doubleheader at UD Arena and can be followed with free video and audio as well as Gametracker at.www.DaytonFlyers.com.
