RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Dayton women's basketball team suffered a 56-50 loss to VCU Saturday in the Atlantic 10 Championship Semifinal.
The Flyers (14-3) end their bid to repeat as tournament champions while the Rams (14-11) continue their season.
KEY MOMENT
4
th – Dayton went 1-of-8 down the stretch and was unable to capitalize on a 4:25 field goal drought for VCU.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1
st Quarter: Dayton 10, VCU 6
- Dayton jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest.
- VCU didn't get its first points until the 6:42 mark.
- Both teams suffered scoring droughts leading into the media timeout.
- VCU took the lead with free throws with 1:48 to play despite going three minutes without a field goal.
- Redshirt senior Jenna Giacone hit a jumper transition at the buzzer to put the Flyers up four with just two minutes to play.
2
nd Quarter: Dayton 26, VCU 32
- The Rams made it a two-point game with 8:23 on the clock, 12-10.
- VCU was forced to call a timeout with 7:36 to play as Dayton led 16-10.
- The Rams hit a three with 5:07 to play to take a 20-19 lead.
- Dayton had to call a timeout with just under five minutes to play as VCU was on a 12-2 run.
- With a minute to go, the Flyers trailed by nine as the Rams had a 10-0 run over 3:28.
- VCU led at the half by six.
- Junior Kyla Whitehead had a team-high seven points at the break.
3
rd Quarter: Dayton 42, VCU 43
- A big three from Giacone pulled the Flyers within one at 33-32 in the first two minutes.
- The Flyers took the lead back at 37-36 with 6:03 to play.
- VCU called a timeout at the 5:43 mark as the Rams led 39-37.
- The Flyers pulled within two at 43-41 with a three from Giacone and a free throw from Whalen and 1:30 to play.
4
th Quarter: Dayton 50, VCU 56
- Whalen got the rebound and drove the length of the floor and got a layup to put the Flyers up 44-43 in the first minute.
- The two teams traded buckets over the next few minutes and UD led 48-47 with 6:25 on the clock.
- At the media break, Dayton trailed 49-48.
- The Flyers suffered from a four minute scoring drought as the clock ticked under three minutes and trailing 52-48.
- A contested layup from Magassa put Dayton within two and just over a minute to play at 52-50.
- VCU faced a four-plus minute scoring drought, but still held the lead, and hit its free throws down the stretch.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
37 to 36 – Both teams were pretty even with VCU shooting 37 percent and Dayton shooting 36 percent.
16 –
Jenna Giacone had a team-high 16 points.
10 –
Kyla Whitehead was the other Flyer in double-digits with 10 points in the contest.
10 – The Flyers had 10 assists in the game compared to VCU's seven.
KEY STAT
14-6 – VCU converted 14 free throws in the game while Dayton only made six.
UP NEXT
Dayton ended its season at 14-3 and will wait for selection Monday for any potential postseason.