KINGSTON, R.I. – The University of Dayton women's basketball team went to the University of Rhode Island Saturday and suffered a 81-57 road loss to end the 2022-23 regular season.
The Flyers (6-20, 5-10 A-10) end with a tough loss while the Rams (23-5, 14-2 A-10) clinched at least a share of the A-10 title.
KEY MOMENT
Start of 1
st - Rhode Island opened the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to take the initial lead and did not relinquish the rest of the game.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 10, Rhode Island 27
- URI scored on its first two possessions, getting to work on the offensive end right away.
- Dayton got its first bucket on a drive from junior Anyssa Jones with 8:20 on the clock.
- The Rams extended their lead to 13-6 by the midway point in the quarter as the hosts were a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
- The Flyers answered with a couple buckets to close the gap to 13-10 during a 2:02 drought for the Rams.
- URI was able to counter with a 10-0 run over 1:16 to take a double-digit lead under just over here minutes to go in the first.
- UD's drought continued for four-plus minutes to end the quarter while URI shot 69 percent in the opening 10 minutes.
2nd Quarter: Dayton 24, Rhode Island 53
- The Rams hit a three at the 8:58 mark to push their lead to 20 points, 30-10.
- The Flyers ended their skid with a layup by senior Mariah Perez followed by a three from junior Taisiya Kozlova.
- Rhode Island did not slow down offensively and continued to score at a high clip, holding a 39-20 advantage at the media break.
- Dayton called its first timeout with 4:39 to play as URI had its biggest lead of the game at 24 points.
- Before the quarter was over, the Flyers faced a 29-point deficit and went the final 3:55 without a field goal.
- Perez had team-highs with eight points and three rebounds to lead UD.
- URI had a 20-6 points off turnover advantage in the first half.
3rd Quarter: Dayton 41, Rhode Island 77
- The Flyers were able to get to the free throw line early in the second half to try and cut into the deficit without burning the clock.
- By the media timeout, UD trailed URI 66-35.
- Perez became the first Flyer in double figures with 13 points.
- Both the Flyers and Rams got hot offensively, with UD going 3-for-3 and URI going 4-for-5.
- Jones became the second Flyer in double digits, her sixth straight game as well.
4th Quarter: Dayton 57, Rhode Island 81
- Dayton carried the game plan over from the third in getting Rhode Island in foul trouble.
- Sophomore Arianna Smith had a couple of nice drives to score four quick points for the Flyers.
- The Rams didn't get their first points in the quarter until the 7:24 mark with a free throw of their own. Another two-plus minute scoring drought followed for the hosts.
- Despite outscoring them in the fourth, URI's firepower proved to be too much for UD to match in the end.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6
th –
Mariah Perez scored double figures for the sixth straight game and 15
th time overall this season.
Anyssa Jones matched that for the sixth straight game as well.
20 and 8 – Perez finished the game with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds.
10 and 9 –
Arianna Smith was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
52% - Rhode Island shot 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from three.
16 to 18 – Dayton committed fewer turnovers than Rhode Island in the contest.
KEY STAT
61% and 57% - Rhode Island shot 61 percent in the first half and 57 percent from three to build an early lead.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will travel to Wilmington, Del. for the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament next week.