WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  – The University of Dayton women's basketball team opened up the West Palm Beach Invitational Monday with a 71-64 victory over High Point University.

The Flyers (7-3) kick off the week with a big win while the Panthers (3-7) start on a loss.

KEY MOMENT
4^th quarter –  Final two minutes – The Flyers led by five with just under two minutes to play, but were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to clinch the game.

1^st Quarter: Dayton 18, High Point 15

• Dayton picked up two earlier fouls on the first possession of the game and High Point jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the opening two minutes.
• The Flyers answered though and took a 7-5 lead at the 7:05 mark with a transition jumper from sophomore Makira Cook.
• Senior Kyla Whitehead got her own rebound, the putback, and the foul for an and-one play to put UD on top by three.
• At the media break, the Flyers were head by six, 15-9.
• Both teams went cold though with neither team scoring for nearly three minutes before a three by graduate student Erin Whalen ended the drought. She had a team-high nine points in the quarter.

2^nd Quarter: Dayton 38, High Point 26

• Sophomore Capria Brown kept the pressure on with a nice drive and finish to start the second, followed by two similar plays by Cook to make it 24-15 in the first two minutes.
• Whalen became the first player in double-digits with her fourth three of the game at the 6:53 mark.
• Midway through the second, Dayton held a 29-23 advantage over High Point.
• The bench stepped up for the Flyers in the second with important buckets from redshirt sophomore Destiny Bohanon and freshman Brynn Shoup-Hill.
• Whalen had a team-high 15 points at the break, going 5-of-7 from three.
• UD shot 50 percent from the field and held HPU to 39 percent, to go with a 22-13 rebound advantage.

3^rd Quarter: Dayton 55, High Point 50

• The Flyers got off to a slow start in the second half as the Panthers closed the gap with a pair of threes in the first two minutes.
• High Point had the momentum in its favor and made it a two-point game, 40-38 just under seven minutes in the quarter.
• By the media timeout, the Flyers held a narrow 45-43 lead.
• Cook hit a jumper at the buzzer to make it 55-50 in favor of Dayton.

4^th Quarter: Dayton 71, High Point 64

• The pace was furious to start the fourth with both teams trying to take control of the game.
• Whalen hit her eighth three of the game, a new career-high and tied a season-high with 26 points.
• At the halfway point, the Flyers were up 65-57 on the Panthers.
• Dayton slowed the pace down over final few minutes to make the possessions harder to come by for High Point.
• The Flyers defended enough in the end and held on for the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8 – With eight three pointers, Erin Whalen set a new career-high with made threes. That is the second most in a single game in Dayton history.
45.5% - Dayton shot 45.5 percent in the game while High Point shot 43.1 percent.
41 to 30 – The Flyers outrebounded the Panthers 41-30 in the contest.
9, 7, and 12 – Araion Bradshaw had a team-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points and seven assists.

KEY STAT
26 – Whalen had a team-high 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from three point range.

UP NEXT
Dayton will finish up the West Palm Beach Invitational Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against Clemson University. The game will take place on the campus of Palm Beach State College.