2010 Women’s Basketball NCAA Tournament
MEMPHIS REGIONAL
No. 8 UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FLYERS (25-7, 11-3 A-10) VS.
No. 1 UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE LADY VOLS (31-2, 15-1 SEC)
NCAA SECOND ROUND - Monday, March 22, 2010 - 7:06 p.m. ET
Venue: Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Court: The Summitt
TV: ESPN 2 (Play-by-Play Dave O’Brien and Analyst Doris Burke)
Live Stats: DaytonFlyers.com
SERIES STUFF
· This year marks the first NCAA D-I Tournament berth for the Flyers. UD was awarded an at-large bid, and is one of three Atlantic 10 teams that earned a trip to the Tournament
· The Flyers are 1-1 playing in Knoxville, Tenn. UD fell to the Lady Vols, 66-40 on Dec. 4, 1986, a year after becoming a D-I program. Dayton defeated TCU 67-66 Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• UD’s Jim Jabir and UT’s Pat Summitt were named two of 10 finalists for the Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award.
• Jabir has taken the Flyers from three wins to three 20-plus win seasons in just seven years.
• The 25 wins this season ties a modern-era record (since 1984-85) with the 2007-08 team that went 25-9.
• No. 3/3 Tennessee is the highest ranked opponent the Flyer women’s basketball program has ever faced. UD has seen plenty of ranked teams this season, beating its first Top 10 team in program history; No. 10/10 Michigan State, and taking No. 6/6 Xavier to overtime. The Flyers also took out No. 23 Purdue at Mackey Arena in front of a partisan Boilermaker crowd of 8,773.
• Speaking of Purdue, Brittany Wilson, who scored the game-winning basket against TCU in the Flyers’ 67-66 come-from-behind victory in their NCAA First Round game, scored the game-winning basket against the Boilermakers with nine seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound.
• UD became the first women’s team to advance past the First Round from Atlantic 10 Conference since 2008.
• The Flyers are competing in their first-ever Second Round game. Jim Jabir (1-2 in the Big Dance) won his first NCAA Tournament game in his third try. He took Marquette to the NCAAs in 1993-94 and 94-95.
• UD has posted three consecutive 20-plus win seasons. It marks just the second time it’s been accomplished in Flyer women’s basketball history.
• The comeback against TCU marks the first time this season that the Flyers have won after trailing at the half. They are now 1-5 when not leading after the first 20 minutes.
• The Flyers are 1-1 this season and 17-18 all-time in games decided by one point.
• For the second consecutive season, sophomore Casey Nance leads the Flyers in blocked shots (62). In just her second season she has 127 career blocks, third all-time at UD. Nance had four of Dayton’s season-high 10 blocks against TCU. In addition to being a season high, the 10 blocks are the second-best in the A-10 this year. Kristin Daugherty added a career-high three blocks to help the cause.
• The Flyers have outrebounded 25 of their 32 opponents this season, including TCU Saturday (47-44).
• Patrice Lalor has dished an assist in 29 of her 31 games played this year, including at least three in the last eight games, and she is averaging 5.1 in those last eight contests.
• Kendel Ross (Feb. 20) and Kristin Daugherty (Feb. 13) both reached the 1,000-point milestone this season.
THE FLYERS MAKE HISTORY IN KNOXVILLE
The University of Dayton women’s basketball team has put together one of the most memorable seasons in program history, and just added another highlight by earning the program’s first-ever D-I NCAA Tournament win. The Flyers received an at-large berth as the No. 8 seed and came back from 18 points down to edge No. 9 seed TCU 67-66 Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena in first-round action.
UD now takes on the No. 1 seed Tennessee Lady Vols this Saturday, March 22 at 7:06 p.m. ET. The Vols are ranked No. 3 in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls. The game will be broadcast by ESPN2. Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Doris Burke (analyst) have the call.
• Dayton had a tremendous year leading up to the NCAA postseason. The Flyers are 25-7, tying the program record (with the 2007-08 team) for the most wins by a UD women’s basketball team in the modern era (Before the program became D-I in 1984-85, the record is 36 by the 1979-80 team that wAS crowned the AIAW National Champions).
• Also this season, for the first time in program history UD knocked off a Top 10 team, defeating No. 10 Michigan State 77-74.
• UD toppled three teams in three days to claim the Purdue BTI Classic championship.
• Dayton entered the AP and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for the first time, reaching as high as No. 20 in both polls.
• The Flyers won a program-best 11 A-10 games.
SERIES STUFF
This is the second meeting between the University of Tennessee and the University of Dayton women’s basketball teams. UT won the first meeting 66-40 on Dec. 4, 1986, a year after UD became a D-I program.
• After their win over TCU Saturday, the Flyers are now 1-1 when playing in Knoxville, Tenn.
• The Flyers are 5-27 all-time against current SEC opponents. Three of those five wins came against Kentucky, while UD is 1-0 against Auburn and Mississippi State.
FLYERS ARE FLYING HIGH
• The University of Dayton posted its largest comeback of the season, overcoming an 18-point deficit to deal TCU a 67-66 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday. It’s also one of the most monumental comebacks in the program’s history; the Flyers won their first D-I NCAA Tournament game.
• Dayton held TCU without a field goal the last 4:15 while rallying from a 64-58 deficit. Two free throws by Helen Sverrisdottir with 17 seconds to play were the only points scored by the Horned Frogs during that span.
• The Flyers outscored TCU 33-14 over the game’s final 13:07.
• Dayton took only their second lead of the game with a Brittany Wilson jump shot in the paint with 30 seconds remaining in the game.
• Wilson again provided the heroics on a put-back in the lane with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game to secure the win for the Flyers.
PROGRESS BEING MADE
One season after earning the program’s first modern era postseason win in the WNIT, this year’s group topped the feat with a win in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
MONDAY, MONDAY
• Dayton is 2-0 when playing on Monday’s this season.
• UD is 7-3 this season in games played at 7 p.m.
• The Flyers are 2-3 against nationally-ranked opponents this season with wins over then-ranked No. 10 Michigan State and then-No. 23 Purdue. Losses were to then-No. 23 Louisville and two losses to Xavier, currently ranked No. 5.
THREE CHEERS FOR CHAMBERS
Sophomore guard De’Sarae Chambers, the all-time scoring leader in Mason County (Ky.) High School basketball, had her number retired by her high school on Feb. 6. Chambers scored 2,967 points during her high school career, outpacing even her cousin Chris Lofton’s record in boys basketball (2,763). Lofton, of course, was a standout at UT from 2004-08.
OTHER UT CONNECTIONS
Both freshman Olivia Applewhite and sophomore Justine Raterman’s AAU teams competed against current Lady Volunteer Glory Johnson and her AAU team. Raterman also competed against UT’s Amber Gray on the AAU circuit.
• The summer of her junior year in high school, Raterman and her Versailles Tigers, took part in Pat Summitt’s team camp.
NCAA APPEARANCES
Although Dayton is appearing in its first ever D-I NCAA Tournament, some Flyers have experienced the atmosphere. Kari and Kristin Daugherty, along with Casey Nance, attended the Final Four in Cleveland, Ohio when Tennessee won in 2007. Aundrea Lindsey attended UT’s regional game that was hosted at the University of Dayton that same year.
NO. 8 SEED DAYTON FLYERS PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Head Coach Jim Jabir
Opening statement:
“We are very excited and pleased to be playing in the second round. I can’t think of a better place to play than the Mecca of college women’s basketball. We’re going to come out and try to play Dayton basketball the best we can. I’ve been very, very proud of our team all year and I’m sure we’re going to come out and do the things we aim to do.”
On how he saw his team grow as the game progressed:
“I thought we started the game fairly well. I think we hit our first couple of shots and I felt like ‘Ok, we’re doing alright.’ Then the bottom fell out a little bit. But, when I saw the field-goal percentage after the game, I felt like we did bear down. We started attacking more; we were more aggressive. I felt that we settled for threes and weren’t as aggressive on the offensive boards as they were. I thought that was reversed in the second half and we got after it. I think we learned a little bit at halftime.”
On if his team seemed nervous to be playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game:
“I went to church today with Justine [Raterman] and her parents. We were on our way walking back from church and I said ‘When I took you out that first time [yesterday], you kind of looked like you had seen a ghost. I didn’t know where you were.’ She said that she started the game feeling pretty comfortable and then missed a couple of shots, and her confidence started to ebb. She kind of went into some place that I’d never seen her before. After sitting for a bit, she was able to kind of get herself back together and become the Justine that we know and love. She picked it up. I think there was that period where she needed to refocus. Overall, I was pretty happy with the way we came out. I don’t think we matched their intensity in the first half, but I don’t think that nerves played that big of a part.”
On how advancing to the NCAA second round is for the growth of the program:
“It’s literally everything. You take steps to continue your progress and your growth of the program. For us to achieve success yesterday and to win and come back in the fashion that we did, and get the opportunity to coach against a legendary coach in a legendary place against all these All-Americans is just one more step in our trajectory. I think that you always need to continue to improve and always need to continue to build. One step is so important. It’s historic. It’s very, very important.”
On the difficulty of facing No. 1 seed Tennessee on its home court:
“I sincerely believe that outside of our little world in Dayton, there’s probably not a lot of people who think we stand a chance of winning and I understand that. I think this is a good experience for our kids. I think we will really challenge ourselves in a way that we’ve not really been challenged all year. We’ve played Louisville, we’ve beaten Michigan State and we’ve played some good teams that are in the tournament. There won’t be any challenge as big as this one. If it doesn’t break us, it will stretch us and make us stronger. I see it as a positive and that’s how we’re approaching the game. We are going to try to be the best we can be and if it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough. Hopefully we will grow and, next year, we will be better for it.”
Senior guard Kendel Ross
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“For me, I love playing them here. I have played on many stages. I love playing in big games, and I love big crowds. There’s no better place to play Tennessee than at home, for me.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“I feel like we started the season with a tough schedule. Our coaches set up a really strong schedule for us. The Purdue tournament really allowed us to prepare, especially because we had big games there. Just our schedule in general has allowed us to play like that all year.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“There are two reasons I’m thinking of right now. We didn’t want to go home tomorrow. First, it’s the NCAA Tournament so why give up when you’re down 18 points? There’s no point. You’re just going to work as hard as you can either way, and hopefully at the end of the game we come up with a win, and we did. My second reason is that a couple of days ago it was my dad’s birthday so I thought I would give him a birthday present.”
Justine Raterman was apparently here at one of Pat Summitt’s camps as a junior in high school. Have you talked to her about what she gained from that?
“She did mention she had been to a team camp here and that it was great. But I think the only thing she gained for tomorrow’s game was maybe being on the court. Other than that, I don’t know that it’s going to help us that much tomorrow.”
Sophomore guard Patrice Lalor
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“This is a great opportunity to play in front of a large crowd and have people see what Dayton is about.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“Practice, I think, has a big part in preparing us to play on this stage. We practice extremely hard every day so I think that’s a major part, along with our schedule.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“We had nothing to lose. We just went out and played as hard as we could. We were down 18 and we just kept playing and kept playing.”
Freshman guard Kari Daugherty
Would you rather play Tennessee on their court in front of their fans, or would you rather it be a neutral site?
“I am such a big fan of huge crowds. Back at Dayton, we try to get as many people to come out as we can. It’s not quite as many at our games as the men’s games, but our fan base has been growing. I can’t wait to play in front of a big crowd like we will tomorrow, so it’s going to be exciting.”
With this being your first NCAA Tournament experience, what has prepared you to play at this level?
“I would have to agree with the schedule. But I would also include our practices. Our coaches have done a great job all year of pushing us to our limits and making us work extremely hard. This is what we’ve prepared for all year. We’ve been working hard for it, and practice has made us ready for this. We’ve been working hard all season, and this is what we came to do.”
Can you describe the emotion of Saturday’s 18-point comeback victory and the fact that you are preparing to play Monday instead of going home?
“When we were down 18, the tournament is so final. If you lose, you’re done. Your season is completely over. I don’t think we were ready for it to be done yet. Everyone had their moment; it was a complete team effort yesterday. And it showed that everyone wanted to keep playing. We weren’t going to be beaten then because we wanted to play one more game, hopefully a couple more. But we’re taking it one game at a time.”
NO. 1 SEED TENNESSEE LADY VOLS PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Head Coach Pat Summitt
Opening Statement:
“Obviously, Dayton is a team that is resilient. They demonstrated that in closing out in an impressive way yesterday. We have to focus on our defense and board play and have to find a way to make shots. I like where we are. I’m excited for this team.”
(on protecting a No. 1 seed after watching Kansas’ men’s team lose Saturday night):
“Obviously, I was watching. It was a great game. It was a reminder that we can’t take anything for granted. Our team has to be focused. Dayton will make runs. They have size and match us. It’s a matter of our team being invested. I hope our bench can give us quality minutes. I like the rotation that we’re starting to see. That will help keep our players fresh.”
(on not feeling good about some players’ efforts on Saturday):
“That was yesterday. Today is a new day. I was probably the hardest on Lyssi (Brewer). It’s so important for her to battle on every possession. Yesterday, she would pick and choose. Taber (Spani) did a great job. She deserved to be here (in the press conference). I wanted her to see what it takes to get ready for the next games. Alicia (Manning) struggled yesterday. She was trying to do too much. I told her, ‘Forget yesterday. Move forward. We’ve got to have you.’”
(on freshman Kamiko Williams):
“Today is Sunday, so we had a little prayer meeting. She responded very well. Kamiko is more casual and laid back. The time we spent in film session was very beneficial. This team needs her. If she doesn’t step up, it can be costly. I told her, ‘You can be a mental midget, or you can be a mental giant.’ From this day forward, she’s going to be a mental giant.”
(on the closeness and accountability of the Tennessee team):
“This is a team that’s very close. They hold each other accountable. It has been interesting to see their growth and their maturity. Kelley (Cain) and Lyssi (Brewer) police the post game. Angie (Bjorklund) and Shekinna (Stricklen) have been working with the guards. They have taken ownership in a positive way. We have told them, ‘It’s not our team. It’s your team. You have to want it more than anyone else in the country.’ They have responded. Have I been hard on them? Yes. But that’s my job, too.”
(on the role of guards on the Tennessee team):
“If we can play inside-out, that’s where the game will be determined eventually. If our post players are double-teamed, our guards will benefit from our inside-outside game. No one has benefited more than Angie (Bjorklund). We’ve put a package of screens together to help her get open. I’ve told her to speak to herself, ‘Wait, wait, wait,’ because she can get anxious.”
(on Dayton coach Jim Jabir):
“I’ve known Jim and watched him coach. He’s an excellent coach because of his ability to teach. His teams execute well. Watching his team yesterday, they have great ball movement and great player movement. They have great weapons. Boards will be a key. Jim is very successful and respected in our profession.”
Sophomore Forward Alicia Manning
Coach was not happy yesterday about the rebounding efforts; she said you had roll call at half time, talk a little bit about that, and where you are mentally about playing to advance and playing to win.
“Coach always says rebounding wins championships and I think that is right on. We have such a big size advantage against these smaller teams, so it’s going to be a huge advantage for us if we can continue to get that rebounding, I think that will help a lot.”
There is so much focus on rebounding, I am curious about guard play. Everyone makes an issue about guard play in the postseason, I’m curious about how the players feel about guard play versus the inside play, how you’ve really managed to dominate the inside game, can that make up for any perceived weakness or any concern at the guard spot?
“Obviously since we do have one of the best post games in the country, our guards just focus on getting the posts touches and then that will open the game up for us. Especially in the beginning of the game just getting them looks, then hopefully the defense will collapse on them and open up shots for us. But it’s our job to get the posts the ball and if we continue to do that then I think we will be just fine”
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Every team in this tournament, there is a reason why they are here, there is a reason why Dayton is here, there is a reason why they won that game. They proved to the NCAA that they deserve to be in this tournament. Seeing yesterday that they were at an 18-point deficit and came back, that just shows, like coach was saying they are resilient and they have heart, they are not ready to go home yet, so we have to take that into account and play as best as we can tomorrow”
Sophomore Forward Alyssia Brewer
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Every team is out here to fight to win, obviously they have that mentality, to be able to come back and win, but for us it’s just we have to keep the pressure going and keep our game going for the whole 40 minutes for us to be able to do what we always do.”
Freshman Guard Taber Spani
When you hear that Dayton was down by 18 yesterday and won the game, how much, if at all, does that change the way you perceive a team when you know they have had to come back and fight back in a game like that?
“Just echoing off it just shows the type of team that they are, every team in this tournament wants to win and wants to compete as if it is their last game. So I think it shouldn’t really change our mentality because from now on every team that we play is going to have that mindset of wanting to win and advance. So I think for us we can’t really focus on what they are going to do we have to focus on what we can control and that’s playing a 40 minute game, and I think we all feel that if we do that we are going to be a hard team to beat.”
