DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball team will open up the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championship tournament Wednesday, March 1 at 12 p.m. as the No. 12 seed against No. 13 seed VCU. The game will be streamed live from Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del. on ESPN+.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters the postseason after going 6-20 on the year and 5-10 in A-10 play. The Flyers are coming off a season-ending loss to Rhode Island, but had won the two games prior to that, including a victory over VCU.

Head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter is in her first season in charge of her hometown Flyers, coming over after a year at Wittenberg. She has assistant coaching stops at Kansas, Kentucky, Penn State, and Ohio State.

As a team this year, the Flyers are averaging 65.3 points per game and giving up 70.4 points to opponents. Dayton is shooting 40.7 percent overall, 34.2 percent from three, and 71.7 percent from the free throw line. UD is one of the top rebounding teams in the conference with a +5.2 margin.

Dayton is led by a pair of double-double threats in senior Mariah Perez with 12.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, and sophomore Arianna Smith with 10.1 points and 9.0 boards each outing. Senior Sydney Freeman is chipping in 10.8 points per game as well.

SCOUTING VCU
VCU finished the regular season with a 7-21 record on the year and 4-12 record in A-10 games. The Rams are amidst a seven-game losing streak, but are 2-1 in neutral site games this season.

Head coach Beth O'Boyle is in her ninth season with VCU and was previously named A-10 Coach of the Year in 2019.

As a team, VCU is scoring 56.7 points each outing and allowing 62.5 points to opposing squads. The Rams are shooting 37.5 percent from the field, 27.4 percent from behind the arc, and 69.9 percent from the charity stripe. VCU is outrebounding teams, but is committing more turnovers on average.

The Rams are led by Sarah Te-Biasu with 16.1 points per game, but she has missed time lately due to injury. Janika Griffith-Wallace has picked up the slack and is averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton suffered a tough loss at Rhode Island Saturday in the regular season finale, 81-57. The Rams shot 51.7 percent in the game and hit 10 threes as they clinched a share of the A-10 regular season title on Senior Day.

VCU fell as well in their season finale with a 51-55 loss at La Salle. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey had a team-high 19 points, two blocks, and four steals in the effort.

SERIES HISTORY
Dayton and VCU have met 17 times previously with the Flyers holding a 12-5 series advantage. UD won the meeting just two weeks ago on the road in Richmond, 70-65. Four Flyers scored double digits in that contest, led by Anyssa Jones with 18 points while Perez and Smith both had double-doubles.

STATISTICAL RANKINGS
As a team, Dayton ranks 25th in the nation in rebounds per game and 40th in defensive rebounding. Individually, Mariah Perez ranks 16th in the country in offensive rebounding and 37th in total rebounding.

DAYTON AT THE A-10 TOURNAMENT    
The Flyers are making their 27th appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament where they hold three titles (2012, 2017, and 2020) and have an overall record of 27-71.

DOUBLING-UP
Senior Mariah Perez already has 11 double-doubles this season, giving her nine for her career. She recorded double-digit points and rebounds in games against Northern Kentucky, Kentucky, Florida, Fairfield, Davidson, Duquesne, Loyola, Saint Louis, Saint Joseph's, VCU, and La Salle already this season. On top of that, she was one point shy of three more against Ohio, Fordham, and St. Bonaventure.

FLYERS IN REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE PLAY
Dayton has won 145 of its last 183 regular season Atlantic 10 games (.803), a streak that dates back to a 97-46 win over Rhode Island on Jan. 7, 2012, and includes a perfect 14-0 mark in conference play during the 2012-13 season.

THREE POINTS OF EXCELLENCE
Dayton has hit at least one three-point shot in 679 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.

UP NEXT
If victorious Wednesday, the Flyers will take on the No. 5 seed on Thursday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. at Chase Fieldhouse.

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