PHILADELPHIA – The University of Dayton women's basketball team began Atlantic 10 play with a 76-47 win at La Salle University Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.
 
The Flyers (8-4, 1-0 A-10) end the year on a high note while the Explorers (5-8, 0-1 A-10) lose their second in a row.
 
KEY MOMENT
2:35 in the 1^st – It was the first basket of the game for La Salle and would show how tough Dayton would be defensively on the night.
 
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 16, La Salle 6

• Dayton jumped out to an early 7-0 lead while holding La Salle in check over the first five minutes of the game.
• Through the first five and half minutes, the Explorers were 0-for-7 shooting with seven turnovers while all seven of the Flyers' points came off those turnovers.
• The tempo continued after the media break with a JaVonna Layfield steal leading to a Jayla Scaife layup, making it 9-0.
• Layfield recorded a career-high six steals in the first seven minutes of the game.
• La Salle's first points came at the 2:35 mark in the first quarter.
• Junior Tiaera Phillips scored six straight points for Dayton to put the Flyers up 15-4 with just over a minute to play.
• Layfield finished the quarter with four rebounds and six steals while Phillips led the way with six points.
• Explorers shot 23.1 percent in the first 10 minutes and went 0-for-4 from three and 0-for-3 from the free throw line.

 
2nd Quarter: Dayton 28, La Salle 23

• La Salle struck first in the second quarter to make it an eight-point game.
• The Flyers were scoreless to start the second until the 7:04 mark with a jumper by junior Lauren Cannatelli.
• The Explorers closed the gap to just four at 19-15 with a run of their own.
• At the media break, it remained a four-point game. The shooting percentages switched with Dayton shooting 25 percent and La Salle shooting 40 percent.
• La Salle cut it to one at 22-21 with three minutes to play in the half.
• The Flyers got the margin back to five at 28-23, forcing an Explorer timeout with :45 left.
• Redshirt senior Alex Harris led UD with seven points in the first half while Layfield had 10 rebounds and six steals.
• The Flyers shot 39.3 percent in the first 20 minutes with the Explorers shooting 34.5 percent.

 
3rd Quarter: Dayton 52, La Salle 34

• Dayton came out strong in the second half and pulled back ahead by 10, 36-26 thanks to a couple of strong plays by Layfield, who reached a double-double.
• After a quick three early in the third, La Salle didn't make another basket until the 5:27 mark as Dayton pulled away.
• By the media timeout, Dayton held an 11-point advantage, 41-30.
• A Cannatelli three at the 2:10 mark mad it a 15-point Dayton lead, their biggest of the game up to that point. She was the second Flyer to reach double figures scoring.
• UD outscored La Salle 22-11 in the third quarter.
• Dayton had a 20-4 points off turnover advantage through 30 minutes.

 
4th Quarter: Dayton 76, La Salle 47

• The Flyers scored their first bucket at the 7:52 mark by Harris after a slow start to the quarter.
• La Salle found just as little success with just one bucket and one made free throw in the first three and a half minutes.
• The Explorers were forced to call a timeout midway through the quarter as Dayton pulled ahead 62-38.
• The Flyers had too much firepower throughout and kept the Explorers double-digit points away.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8 – Layfield recorded eight steals in the game, the second most in a single game in school history. She passed last year's A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Kelley Austria who had seven in a game.
24 – Not only that, but Layfield recorded 24 rebounds, which is also the second most in a single game. She had previously had 22 as a personal best in the season opener this year against Harvard.
5 – Five Flyers scored in double figures, led by seniors Jenna Burdette, Layfield, and junior Cannatelli, who all had 12 points.
11.1% - Dayton held La Salle to 11.1 percent from the three-point line.
42 – 38 – The Flyers had a 42-38 rebounding advantage.
43.9% - Dayton shot 43.9 percent from the field and held La Salle to 32.1 percent.
21 to 10 – The Flyers only had 10 turnovers compared to forcing 21 from the Explorers. That led to a 24-4 points off turnover advantage.
 
 
KEY STAT
24 off 21 – The Flyers had 24 points off 21 La Salle turnovers.  
 
UP NEXT

• The Flyers will return home for the first A-10 home game against Rhode Island at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4 at UD Arena.