DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball team opens up Atlantic 10 play this Sunday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. in Philadelphia against La Salle University. The New Year's Eve game will take place at Tom Gola Arena.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers finished a tough non-conference schedule with a 7-4 record overall and a 0-2 record in true road games. UD earned four of its wins at home and went 3-1 in neutral site games.

Head coach Shauna Green is in her second season at the helm of the Flyers after going 22-10 in her first campaign last year. The WBCA National Rookie Coach of the Year returns an experienced squad with three seniors, six juniors, and three starters.

As a team, Dayton is outscoring opponents 71.5 points per game to 61.8 allowed. The Flyers are shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from three point range, and 71.2 percent from the free throw line. UD does benefit from a +6.0 rebounding advantage, but faces a -0.6 turnover margin.

The Flyers are led by senior Jenna Burdette, who is scoring 14.6 points and dishing out 3.5 assists per game. Sophomore Jayla Scaife is right behind her with 14.0 poitns and 5.5 rebounds each contest while senior JaVonna Layfield is averaging a double-double with 10.5 points and 10.7 boards each outing.

SCOUTING LA SALLE
La Salle is looking to get things going after going 5-7 in non-conference play and struggling at home, going 1-3 at Gola Arena. Reigning A-10 Coach of the Year Jeff Williams leads the Explorers, who were picked to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll.

The Explorers rank 12th in the A-10 in scoring with just 58.4 points per game, and allow 64.4 points to opponents. La Salle shoots 40.6 percent overall, 35.3 percent from behind the arc, and 70.8 percent from the charity stripe. A -8.0 turnover margin has hinderd the Explorers this season.

Leading La Salle is two-time A-10 Player of the Week Amy Griffin, who is averaging 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and already has a triple-double this season. Adreana Miller is chipping in 12.0 points as well. The Explorers have a deep squad with 12 players seeing action this season already.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton ended the New Orleans Shootout last week with a 65-46 win over Mississippi Valley State Thursday. The Flyers were led by redshirt senior Alex Harris, who had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocks.

La Salle's last game came at home against No. 20 Villanova, with the Explorers falling 76-49. In the second and third quarters combined, La Salle scored just 17 points while the Wildcats scored 48 points during that stretch.

THE SERIES
The Flyers and Explorers will square off for the 36th time on Sunday with Dayton leading the series 19 wins to La Salle's 16 victories. The Explorers did take the last matchup however on Dec. 4 last season to open A-10 play, winning 54-51 at UD Arena. Prior to that, Dayton had won 11 in a row.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will return to UD Arena for the conference home opener on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. againt Rhode Island.