DAYTON, Ohio  – The University of Dayton women's basketball team defeated Rhode Island Saturday afternoon as they sealed their regular season Atlantic 10 Championship title.
 
The Flyers end their regular season 23-4 and as A-10 regular season champions (14-1).
 
KEY MOMENT
6:25 in the 3rd quarter: Erin Whalen surpassed 1,000 points in her career
 
1^st Quarter: Dayton 14, Rhode Island 17 

• Graduate student Jenna Giacone scored the first points for the Flyers, sinking a deep three, making her career 900th point.
• After a 2:18 scoring drought, senior Kyla Whitehead scored a layup assisted by grad student Araion Bradshaw.
• With 5:30 left in the quarter, Giacone drains another three resulting in the Flyers to take a one point lead.
• Whitehead goes 1-1 with her free throw shots, the first for the Flyers.
• Three point field goal by the Rams ends a 5:05 scoring drought for Rhode Island.
• Giacone quickly responds with yet another three point shot.
• Grad student Erin Whalen makes both of her free throws making the overall team percentage 75 percent.
• The Flyers end the quarter down by three and are led in points (9) by Jenna Giacone.

2^nd Quarter: Dayton  28, Rhode Island 28

• Bradshaw's three-pointer kickstarts the quarter.
• After a turnover, sophomore Makira Cook feeds Giacone for another assist and another triple.
• At 6:22, Cook on the fast break makes a jumper shot, advancing the Flyers to a one point lead..
• The Rams go on a 2:07 scoring drought making zero of their four shots.
• Erin Whalen makes a jump shot after the media timeout.
• At the free throw line, Whalen ended the scoring drought for the Flyers and tied the score.
• Cook slid through the Rams defense to score a layup.
• The two Rhode Island free throws tied the game and close out the half with neither team scoring again.

3^rd Quarter: Dayton  49, Rhode Island 33

• Whitehead makes her two free throws to start the scoring this half.
• Sophomore Tenin Magassa scores a turnaround jumper to spark a fiery scoring run.
• The jumper and lay up made by Whalen saw her surpassing a career 1,000 points.
• The Rams were forced to call a timeout after a long scoring drought.
• Half way through the quarter, Giacone keeps the momentum going for the Flyers as she makes her fifth three-pointer of the game and follows up on the return with a jump shot.
• For the Rams, Williams hits one of two free throws for Rhode Island to snap the Flyers 12-0 scoring run.
• Rams' Chanell Williams' missed free throw was the first missed free throw of the game for the Rams.
• The Flyers have scored 11 second chance points off of six offensive rebounds this half
• With an assist from Magassa, Whitehead scores a layup
• The Flyers' astounding defense held the Rams to five points and left them without a field goal since the 7:26 mark closing out the third quarter

4^th Quarter: Dayton 60, Rhode Island 46

• Magassa scores two points for the Flyers right out of the gate
• Pushing through the defense, Whalen makes a layup
• Field goal by Foppossi ends a 10:21 FG drought for the Rams
• A rebound by Whitehead increases the teams total to 33 
• After a 3:06 scoring drought, Magassa ends the drought with a layup 
• Giacone broke down the Rams defense and scored a turn-around layup
• A quick response after a Flyer timeout as Magassa makes a jumper
• With 0:44 left in the game,  Brown, Lemaster, Wheeler, Shoup-Hill, and Bohanon will finish the game for the Flyers

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

 

• 1 - The Flyers finish first in the A-10.
• 5 - Jenna Giacone ties her season high in made threes.
• 5 - Flyers held the Rams to five points in total in the 3rd quarter.
• 12 - The biggest scoring run the Flyers went on against the Rams.
• 20 - The biggest lead of the game for Dayton lasted for 2:58 in the fourth quarter.
• 83 - The final free throw game percentage.
• 900 - Jenna Giacone hits a milestone of 900 career points as a Flyer.
• 1,000 - Erin Whalen surpassed 1,000 points in her career as a Dayton Flyer.

 
KEY STAT

•  10:21 - The Flyers held the Rams without a field goal for 10 minutes and 21 seconds.

 
UP NEXT
The Flyers close out their regular season and will travel to Wilmington, Del. to compete in the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship tournament March 4-6.