DAYTON, Ohio - After a huge weekend, the University of Dayton women's basketball program is getting national recognition. Head coach Jim JabirĀ and the Flyers are receiving votes in both major women's college basketball polls.
UD is receiving 14 votes in the Associated Press Top 25, and three votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Flyers are fresh off their first win over a Top 10 team, a 77-74 victory over Michigan State, who was ranked 10th in both polls at the time. It was the first win over a Top 10 program in the history of UD women's basketball. Dayton followed that with a near-upset of the 2008-09 national runners-up Louisville. The Cardinals, ranked No. 23/19, escaped with a 65-63 win, after UD held a seven-point advantage with 4:53 to play in the game.
The last time Dayton was in the polls, the Flyers were on an 11-game winning streak and picked up five votes in the AP Top 25 Poll on Dec. 24, 2007, also marking the first time in modern history that the team earned votes in a national poll. The Flyers also received votes in the Jan. 7 and Jan. 14 AP poll that season, after extending their winning streak to 16 consecutive games to tie the longest streak in the nation.
UD continues this weekend with its very tough schedule. The Flyers travel to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Basketball Travelers Classic this Friday through Sunday. They open the tournament this Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. ET against the Big East conference's Georgetown, a team which is also receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll. UD then plays Saturday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. ET against the host, Purdue, which is ranked 23rd in the USA Today/ESPN and receiving 14 votes in the AP Top 25. The Flyers close out the tournament against Seattle Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1:15 p.m. ET.