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DAYTON, Ohio –  Junior Kristin Daugherty scored 18 points to lead the University of Dayton to a 70-55 win over Charlotte Wednesday morning at UD Arena. The Flyers hosted “Math Day” and 2,733 fans, made up mostly of students from schools all over the Miami Valley, cheered UD on to its seventh consecutive home court victory. Dayton improved to 17-5 overall and 5-2 in the Atlantic 10 and dealt the 49ers (13-9, 6-2 A-10) just their second loss in conference play.

Senior Kendel Ross contributed 13 points for the Flyers. Also for Dayton, sophomore Justine Raterman nabbed a career-high four steals, to go along with her seven points and six rebounds. Sophomore Patrice Lalor dished out nine assists, one off her career high, and also had three steals. Freshman Olivia Applewhite had a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Casey Nance swatted two shots, and has had at least one block in 13 consecutive games.

Lalor scored the opening points of the game and the Flyers never looked back. They held Charlotte to just one field goal in the first eight minutes of the contest. The 49ers’ Shannon McCallum – who nearly had a triple double with her 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, along with four steals and two blocked shots – scored on a jumper at 17:17 and then the Flyers went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-2 after a free throw by Kayla Moses with 12:57 left to play in the half.

Daugherty gave UD its largest lead of the half, 25-10, on a jump shot with 5:32 to play. Daugherty scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the first half and Dayton led 32-21 at the intermission.
The Flyers built their lead to 17 after a pair of free throws by Ross that put UD up 43-26 with 15:41 to play. Charlotte chipped away at the lead and cut it to six, 53-47, with 6:59 left to play. Then Dayton used a 13-0 run over the next two-and-half minutes, culminated by a trey from Raterman at the 4:33 mark that helped UD’s lead swell to 19 points, 66-47.

Dayton shot 60 percent from behind the arc in the second half (6-of-10) after struggling in the first period going, 3-for-12. The Flyers outrebounded Charlotte 40-38.

The Flyers stay at home to host Saint Louis this Sunday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. ET at UD Arena.

For their game vs. Xavier on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. ET the Flyers are holding  a UD Hoops for Haiti benefit. All proceeds on tickets from the Xavier game will go to Haiti relief. The cost of each ticket is $2 but larger monetary donations will also be accepted. The Flyers are also going to be selling T-shirts with all proceeds going to Haiti relief.

POSTGAME QUOTES
UD Head Coach Jim Jabir
“The atmosphere today was great. The kids were awesome and they gave us some energy that we really needed.”

“We hit some really key shots. We played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. I think that Kristin, Kendel and Justine did well for us in that stretch.”

“Olivia Applewhite is a beast. I think that she is going to be good. She had a lot of opportunities, but missed some shots. When she puts it all together it is going to be really scary.”

“Saint Louis plays so hard and they are big and physical. We are going to have our work cut out for us on Sunday. It will not be an easy game.”

Olivia Applewhite
“My role on the team is to be very physical and to play hard every second I am out there. That is what I wanted to do today. We knew that Charlotte crashes the boards really hard and I know that is one of my strengths so I went out there and gave it all I had.”

“I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable out there. I struggled earlier in the season learning all of the plays. Now I am starting to understand and grasp the concepts better. It is a lot different than high school, the level of competition is much higher. I am starting to “get it” a little more and I still have time to improve even more.”

Kristin Daugherty
“I was struggling when we first got into conference play. I just went into the gym a lot and Coach Jabir and Coach Rechliz both worked with me on my shot. I am more confident and I am feeling good.”

“We came out knowing that Charlotte was a tough team and they weren’t going to lay down. The way we handled it was a little suspect, but once we calmed down and got into our offense, then we were able to flow a little bit better.”