WILMINGTON, Del.  – The University of Dayton women's basketball team held on for a late 67-61 victory over VCU in the first round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Championships Wednesday.

The Flyers (7-20) move on to the second round while the Rams (7-22) end their campaign.

KEY MOMENT
Final 1:03 – VCU closed the gap to just four points with 1:03, but Dayton got a couple of big defensive stops and hit its free throws down the stretch clinch.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1^st Quarter: Dayton 12, VCU 14

• UD forced two turnovers from VCU on its opening two possessions the Flyers were the first to score with a free throw from junior Anyssa Jones.
• It was a hard-fought opening six minutes and by the media break, it was 10-8 in favor of the Rams.
• Redshirt junior Destiny Bohanon had a nice drive and contest layup to tie the game up at 10-10 in her first action in a few games with 3:04 to play.
• Meanwhile VCU was suffering from a three-minute scoring drought, but UD was just 1-of-7 from the floor during the stretch.
• Jones led the Flyers in the first quarter with six points.

2^nd Quarter: Dayton 34, VCU 21

• The second quarter started off with strong defensive possessions, but it was the Flyers with Jones the first to strike at the 8:29 mark.
• Senior Mariah Perez got the bucket off the nice dish from sophomore Arianna Smith to give Dayton back the lead, 16-14.
• Jones followed up with a three to give her double digits before bucket from Smith on the assist from senior Sydney Freeman forced a VCU timeout as the Flyers held a seven-point advantage and 6:13 to play in the quarter.
• The streak continued and Dayton pulled up by 16, 32-16, with 2:28 to go.
• The Flyers outscored the Rams 22-7 in the quarter while holding VCU to just 11.8 percent from the field.

3^rd Quarter: Dayton 44, VCU 41

• The Flyers started the third off sluggish while the Rams pulled within nine, 36-27, and Dayton called its first timeout with 7:30 on the clock.
• Dayton ended the 7-0 VCU run with a contested shot from Smith.
• By the media break, the Rams had pulled within six, 38-32. The Flyers on the other hand were 0-for-5 from three in the half.
• Following a three-plus minute drought for VCU, they were still able close the gap to five points and under two minutes to play.
• The third quarter belonged to the Rams, who outscored the Flyers 20-10.
• Freeman became the second Flyer in double digits with 11 points as well, joining Jones.

4^th Quarter: Dayton 67, VCU 61

• On the opening bucket in the fourth, Smith was able to score over three defenders to get herself in double figures.
• The two teams traded buckets over the opening few minutes with neither team willing to budge as the intensity increased.
• Freeman scored five straight points for Dayton to give the Flyers the 54-47 advantage and 6:54 on the clock.
• By the media timeout, UD held a narrow 54-53 lead after a 6-0 VCU run.
• Dayton pushed the margin at 60-55, forcing VCU to use their third timeout with 3:06 to play.
• At the 1:21 mark, Perez hit a tough shot to give UD the 65-59 lead.
• VCU had the ball and :18 before calling a time out and trying to overcome a four-point deficit.
• The Rams were unable to convert and Jones got the rebound before a UD timeout and :05 left.
• Bohanon hit the late free throws to clinch.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7^th – Anyssa Jones scored double-digit points for the seventh straight game. She finished with 14 points.
18 – Sydney Freeman had a team-high 18 points to go with eight assists and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
47% to 37% - Dayton shot 47 percent from the floor while holding VCU to 37 percent.
5 – The Flyers had five players in double digits.

KEY STAT
85% - Dayton was 17-of-20 from the free throw line for 85 percent.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will move on to the second round to take on No. 5 seed Richmond at 1:30 p.m. at Chase Fieldhouse.