Box Score
DAYTON, Ohio - Freshman Celeste Edwards scored the decisive final four points of the game and finished with a career-high 18 points as the University of Dayton Flyers defeated the VCU Rams 73-69 at UD Arena Wednesday night.  The win moves Dayton to 14-5 on the year and 7-1 in the Atlantic 10. The Rams drop to 17-6 overall and 5-5 A-10.


It was another balanced scoring effort for the Flyers as four players finished in the double digits.  Edwards led the team with 18, while senior Cassie Sant finished with 17, Ally Malott with 14 and Andrea Hoover with 13, which put her over 1,000 points in her career.  She is the 21^st UD women's basketball player to reach the milestone.

In the first half it was a close game almost all the way throughout, with the game being tied four times.  Dayton would eventually take their largest lead of the half, eight, towards the end of the first half, and took a 33-27 lead into the half.

Dayton extended that lead to as many as 15 points before VCU went on a 19-2 run to tie the game with eight minutes left to play in regulation.  The run was aided by six UD turnovers; Dayton had a season-high 26 turnovers.

From there, both teams continued to trade buckets, while VCU maintained a tight lead.  It was with 23 seconds to play that Edwards hit a long three pointer to give Dayton the three-point lead, 72-69.
 
On the ensuing possession, Edwards came up with the big steal and was fouled.  She hit one of two free throws to seal the victory, 73-69.

As a team, Dayton shot 46 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.  They also doubled up VCU on fast break points 20-10.

For VCU, they were led by the 30 points from Robyn Parks.  Isis Thopre and Monna Finney-Smith were the other Rams in double digits, with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Dayton now goes back on the road this Saturday, Feb., 8 as they square off against Duquesne University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.