FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The University of Dayton women's basketball team will compete in the 2019 WNIT Tournament, moving the Flyers' postseason streak to 12-straight years. Dayton enters the 22nd annual tournament and will travel to Northwestern on Thursday, March 21 at 8 p.m. ET.

"We are excited about the opportunity to play again in the postseason for the 12th straight year," said head coach Shauna Green. "We've had a great week of practice and ready to get on the court to compete again. Northwestern is a very talented team and we are anxious to start our preparation for them."

SCOUTING DAYTON
Dayton heads into the postseason with a 17-13 record overall after finishing the regular season with a 10-6 conference mark and a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 standings. The Flyers advanced to the A-10 Championship Semifinal before falling to top-seed VCU. UD finished the regular season 2-10 on the road.

Head coach Shauna Green is the reigning A-10 Coach of the Year and is in her third season at the helm of the Flyers. With a 62-30 record at Dayton and three conference titles, expectations are high for the program.

As a team, the Flyers are scoring 65.7 points per game and holding opponents to 58.9 points each outing. Dayton shoots 38.0 percent overall, 31.2 percent from three, and 70.5 percent from the free throw line. The Flyers outrebound opponents by a +2.4 margin and have a positive turnover margin.

Dayton is led by First Team All-Conference performer Jayla Scaife, who averages 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Senior Lauren Cannatelli is contributing 13.4 points per game and led the A-10 in free throw percentage.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern welcomes the Flyers with a 16-14 record overall and a 10-5 home mark. The Wildcats were 9-9 in Big Ten play and fell in the first round of the conference tournament to Michigan State.

Head coach Joe McKeown is in his 11th year with the Wildcats and a mentor of UD Coach Green in her year as an assistant at Northwestern during the 2016-17 season. Prior to his time at NU, he spent 19 years at fellow A-10 school George Washington.

Northwestern as a team averaged 66.3 points each outing and gave up just 60.2 to opponents. The Wildcats are shooting 40.1 percent from the field, 31.2 percent from behind the arc, and 68.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Wildcats also benefit from outrebounding and committing fewer turnovers than opposing squads.

NW is led by sophomore Lindsey Pulliam and her 16.2 points per game while senior Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah is averaging a double-double with 11.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Abi Scheid provides another scoring threat with 10.8 points per game and shooting 42.4 percent from the floor.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton ended its A-10 title run with a 61-52 loss to VCU on March 9 in the semifinals. The Flyers had just one player in double figures and shot 29.1 percent in the game.

Northwestern fell in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 7 to Michigan State, 68-52. The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and fended off any Wildcat rally to advance to the next round. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah led NU with 11 points and eight rebounds in the contest.

THE SERIES
Dayton and Northwestern have played six times previously with the Wildcats controlling the series at four wins to the Flyers' two wins. The last meeting took place on Nov. 9, 2007 in Albuquerque, N.M. in the Women's Sports Foundation Tournament with NU coming out on top 76-70 in overtime.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
The Flyers rank 10th nationally in defensive rebounds per game and sixth in three point field goal percentage defense. UD also leads the A-10 in rebounds and rebounds per game. Individually, Lauren Cannatelli ranks 10th in the country in free throw percentage.

IN THE WNIT TOURNAMENT
The Flyers are making their fifth WNIT appearance and first since 2016. The Flyers are 1-3 all-time in the tournament.

FLYERS PICK UP ALL-ATLANTIC 10 HONORS
Junior Jayla Scaife received First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors for her accomplishments during the 2018-19 season. Teammate senior Lauren Cannatelli received Second Team All-Conference and All-Academic team accolades as well. Scaife was also named to the All-Championship team after averaging 22.0 points in the two-game run.

CANNATELLI'S SWEEPS THREE-POINT RECORDS
Senior Lauren Cannatelli made her 240th career three pointer on Feb. 14 at VCU, breaking the all-time mark in Dayton history. The Cincinnati native already held the single game made threes, single season made threes, and career three pointers attempted. With her three's at VCU, Cannatelli passed former Flyer Andrea Hoover (2011-15).

ANOTHER RECORD SETTING NIGHT FOR CANNATELLI
Senior Lauren Cannatelli was a perfect 22-for-22 from the free throw line in the win over Saint Joseph's on Jan. 27. That mark was second all time in Division I history, the top performance in the NCAA this season, and broke numerous Dayton records for free throws made, attempted, and highest percentage. Add those to her other records for most three's made in a game, made in a season, and attempted in a career.

POSTSEASON EXPECTATION
The Flyers have made 12-consecutive postseason appearances between the NCAA Division I Tournament and the Women's National Invitational Tournament. Here are the past 12 campaigns
Year    Record    Postseason
2018-19    17-13    WNIT
2017-18    23-6    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round *
2016-17    22-10    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
2015-16    14-15    WNIT - 1st Round
2014-15    27-6    NCAA Tournament - Elite Eight
2013-14    23-8    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
2012-13    28-3    NCAA Tournament - 2nd Round
2011-12    23-7    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
2010-11    21-12    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
2009-10    25-8    NCAA Tournament - 1st Round
2008-09    21-14    WNIT - 2nd Round
2007-08    25-9    WNIT - 1st Round

THREE POINTS OF EXCELLENCE
Dayton has hit at least one three-point shot in 567 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 against Colgate in the season opener had 8,811 fans in attendance.

70'S THE MAGIC NUMBER
Since the 2009-10 season, Dayton is 159-18 (.898) when scoring 70 or more points, including 11-1 in 2016-17. During the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, the Flyers only lost one game per season when scoring at least 70 points, and dropped only two games in 2009-10 when reaching that mark.
2018-19    12-2
2017-18    15-2
2016-17    11-1
2015-16    10-2
2014-15    24-2
2013-14    19-4
2012-13    21-1
2011-12    13-1
2010-11    15-1
2009-10    19-2
TOTAL    159-18

UP NEXT
If victorious, Dayton would face the winner of host Toledo and Seton Hall on a date to be determined.