DAYTON - The 2018 Atlantic 10 regular season champion University of Dayton women's basketball team finishes up the regular season Saturday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. ET in a road contest against Saint Louis at Chaifetz Arena. The Flyers have a shot at finishing the A-10 season with a perfect 16-0 record.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers are still unbeaten in conference play and currently riding a 16-game winning streak, which ties the second longest in program history. Dayton is 22-4 overall and 7-2 away from home this season.
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 by a +14.0 margin, which leads the conference. The Flyers also shoot 43.6 percent overall, 39.1 percent from three point range, and 70.9 percent from the free throw line. UD benefits from a +6.3 rebounding margin and fewer turnovers than opponents as well.
The Flyers are led by reigning A-10 Player of the Week and senior
Jenna Burdette, who is averaging 16.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. Sophomore
Jayla Scaife is having a breakout season as well with 14.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while junior
Lauren Cannatelli is contributing 13.4 points and just four three's shy of setting the single season mark in UD history.
SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
Saint Louis was picked to finish second in the A-10 preseason poll, but has had an up-and-down season, entering the final game with a 14-14 record overall and an 8-7 conference mark. 2016 A-10 Coach of the Year Lisa Stone is in her sixth season at SLU.
The Billikens score 72.8 points per game and give up 71.3 to opposing teams, while facing a -1.1 rebounding margin and a -0.5 turnover margin. SLU shoots 43.5 percent overall, 33.2 percent from three, and 74.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Leading the way for the Billikens is senior guard Jackie Kemph, who leads the A-10 and ranks sixth in the nation in assists with 7.5 per game. She also leads SLU in scoring with 15.0 points each outing while Maddison Gits and Paige Rakers both add double-figures scoring each.
LAST TIME OUT
Dayton battled a tough George Mason team and came back to earn a 71-66 victory at home Wednesday to clinch the A-10 title outright. Four Flyers scored in double figures while
JaVonna Layfield had yet another double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds.
Saint Louis suffered its third straight loss with an 88-84 overtime loss on the road at VCU Wednesday. The Billikens rallied with 25 points in the fourth quarter alone to force overtime, but were unable to get it done in extra time with two starters fouling out.
THE SERIES
The Flyers and Billikens have had a fierce rivalry in their time in the A-10 with Dayton winning 29 times and Saint Louis winning eight times. The last showdown took place earlier this season at UD Arena with the Flyers winning that one 101-76 on NBC Sports.
UP NEXT
With a first round bye, the Flyers will head to the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Richmond, Va. for a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, March. 1 at 11 a.m. The opponent is yet to be determined.
