CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Dayton women's basketball team used a strong second half to power its way to a 29-point win over Liberty University, 82-53.

The Flyers (6-6) controlled every aspect of the game against the Flames (1-9), and went on to win their third straight contest.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1^st Quarter – Dayton 15, Liberty 9
Liberty jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Dayton scored eight straight during a 3:10 Flame drought. Going into the media, the Flyers held an 8-7 advantage after holding LU to 1-of-5 in the previous few minutes. Junior JaVonna Layfield converted an old-fashioned three-point play to add to UD's momentum. Both teams settled in defensively with the scoring slowing down the rest of the quarter. The Flyers finished the period with a six-point lead.

2^nd Quarter – Dayton 33, Liberty 23
Dayton jumped out to a 21-12 advantage after pounding the ball inside the paint, but Liberty pulled back at 21-18 by the media break. The Flyers got the margin back to four at 26-20 thanks to free throws with two minutes to go in the first half. Dayton hit its attempts from the charity stripe and pushed its lead to double-digits before the clock expired. Layfield continued to lead UD and recorded 11 points and six rebounds before the half.

3^rd Quarter – Dayton 52, Liberty 33
The Flyers came out of the locker room and added to their margin with contested buckets by Layfield, redshirt junior Alex Harris, and senior Kelley Austria. UD led 39-25 going into the media timeout. The Flyers continued to press and got the lead up to 19 at 46-27 with under two minutes to go in the quarter. Senior Saicha Grant-Allen hit the double-figure mark with a strong third as the Flyers led 52-33 going into the final quarter.

4^th Quarter – Dayton 82, Liberty 53
Layfield's three to start the fourth made it a 22-point lead for the Flyers, their largest of the game up to that point. That was just the beginning though as Dayton went on a tear offensively. The Flyers went 4-for-4 going into the media timeout, including two big three's by freshman Jayla Scaife. UD led 74-42 midway through the final period, going 8-of-11 from the field in the opening five minutes. That would be all the Flyers would need to cruise to a 29-point win over the Flames.
 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Flyers scored 82 points, the second-most this season, on 28-of-59 shooting, going for 47.5%. UD also hit 10 three-pointers and went 16-of-20 from the charity stripe.
• UD scored 30 points in the fourth quarter alone.
• Layfield led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
• Grant-Allen recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, and a season-high four blocks.
• Scaife scored all 14 of her points in the fourth quarter, going 3-of-4 from three-point range.
• All 14 Flyers saw action against the Flames Wednesday.
• Dayton shot 40.7% from the field in the first half and held Liberty to 24.1%. The Flyers were 2-for-13 from three-point range however, for 15.4%, but made it up for it by going 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
• Liberty continues its worst start in school history with a 1-9 record.
• The Flames made the fewest free throws all season with four in the game.
• Dayton committed just 10 turnovers in the game compared to Liberty's 14.
• The Flyers out-rebounded the Flames, 38-35.

KEY STAT

• 5 – Dayton held Liberty to just five second-chance points in the game. The Flames ranks fourth in the nation in offensive rebounds with 19 per game. The Flyers dominated the glass and limited second-chance points.

UP NEXT

• The Flyers will finish up the Cavalier Classic on Thursday with a 7 p.m. showdown with host University of Virginia at the John Paul Jones Arena.