DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball team returns home to host Morehead State Thursday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. for the annual School Day game.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton heads back to UD Arena with a 4-5 record on the year, facing a gauntlet of a schedule already including five straight NCAA Tournament opponents and three Top 25 teams. The Flyers are 1-2 at home this year.

Head coach Shauna Green is in her fourth season in charge of the Flyers and already has two tournament and one regular season conference titles, as well as being the former A-10 Coach of the Year in 2018.

As a team, the Flyers are scoring 66.2 points each outing and holding opponents to 66.0 points. Dayton is shooting 36.7 percent overall, 32.3 percent from three, and 68.1 percent from the free throw line.

Dayton is led by redshirt junior Erin Whalen, who is scoring 13.4 points and shooting 43.4 percent off the bench. Senior Jayla Scaife is contributing 11.9 points while redshirt senior Shakeela Fowler is chipping in 10.8 points.  

SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE
Morehead State comes to Dayton with a 3-4 record overall, holding wins over Saint Francis, Midway, and Radford. The Eagles are 0-2 in away games this season.

Head coach Greg Todd is in his sixth season at Morehead State and is the winningest coach in the Ohio Valley Conference over the past three years.

This season, Morehead State is scoring 67.9 points per game and allowing 65.9 points to opponents. The Eagles are shooting 36.7 percent from the field, 27.2 percent from behind the arc, and 74.5 percent from the charity stripe. MSU does have positive turnover and rebounding margins to assist.

Leading the Eagles are Breuna Jackson and Ariel Kirkwood, who both average 10.1 points per game with the latter adding a team-high 9.1 rebounds each contest.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton got back in the win column with a dominating 78-49 win over Maine in the finale of the Gulf Coast Showcase Sunday in Estero, Fla. The Flyers shot a season-high 55 percent from the field and had 19 points from Whalen.

Morehead State ended its losing skid with a 73-62 win over Radford at home last Saturday. Breuna Jackson had 17 points while three other Eagles scored in double figures.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Morehead State have played 10 times previously with both teams winning five games each. The series has not taken place since 1995 when the Eagles defended their home court 75-72 on Dec. 4 in Morehead, Ky.  

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
The Flyers rank in the top 50 in the nation in rebounds and free throws made per game. Individually, Shakeela Fowler is 31st in free throw percentage and leads the A-10.

CHALLENGED EARLY AND OFTEN
Dayton created one of the hardest non-conference schedules in program history, taking on three nationally ranked teams in the first seven games, and facing numerous 2019 NCAA Tournament participants. The Flyers have already played No. 6 South Carolina, No. 4 UConn, No. 21 Gonzaga, three-peat MAC Champions Central Michigan, and former NCAA participants Northeastern, Auburn, and Maine.

THREE POINTS OF EXCELLENCE
Dayton has hit at least one three-point shot in 577 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 2, 2001, the longest streak in the Atlantic 10 Conference and one of the top streaks in the nation. The Flyers made a program-record 15 three-point field goals against Buffalo in the Connecticut World Vision Classic on Nov. 25, 2011. Dayton tied the record with 15 vs. Wright State on Nov. 28, 2012.

WE'VE GOT AN AUDIENCE
On Dec. 9, 2017, the Flyers played in front of 9,007 fans at UD Arena while hosting Toledo. The season-best crowd was due to the overwhelming success of UD's annual School Day game, a chance for local school-aged children to take a field trip with the Flyers. With a home attendance average of 2,605, Dayton ranked 48th out of 349 DI programs. This year's School Day game will take place on Dec. 5 against Morehead State.

UP NEXT
Dayton has a 12-day break for finals and the end of the semester before heading to Buffalo to take on the Bulls Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.