CHICAGO – The University of Dayton women's basketball team came within one basket of Loyola Chicago, but was unable to complete the comeback in the 64-61 loss.

The Flyers (11-16, 5-11 A-10) came up short of earning an important conference win while the Ramblers (14-14, 8-9 A-10) held on and improved to .500 on the year.
 
KEY MOMENT
Final minute – Dayton was within a possession of Loyola in the final minute with a chance to tie, but Loyola hit its free throws down the stretch and held on for a close one.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1^st Quarter: Dayton 11, Loyola Chicago 6

• Both teams got off to a slow start with neither team able to score in the opening few possessions.
• The hosts were the first to strike with a transition layup at the 8:00 mark.
• The Flyers answered with a challenged basket by junior Arianna Smith with 7:11 on the clock. She followed that up with a putback to put UD on top 4-2.
• By the media break, a 6-0 Dayton run had the visitors up during a 3:067 drought by the Ramblers.
• Loyola scored with 3:49 to play to end its skid.
• The Flyers pushed their lead to seven points and forced a Rambler timeout with 2:41 to play in the first.
• Dayton held Loyola to just 18 percent shooting in the opening 10 minutes while shooting 45 percent.

2^nd Quarter: Dayton 26, Loyola Chicago 24

• Smith got her third bucket of the game to start the second and give UD the 13-6 advantage.
• The Ramblers responded with a three, but senior Taisiya Kozlova answered right back with a three of her own at the 7:30 mark.
• Midway through the second, the Flyers held a 21-14 lead over the Ramblers.
• Dayton extended the margin to double digits at 26-16 after nice baskets from senior Anyssa Jones and graduate student Mariah Perez.
• Loyola got hot though and closed the gap to a three-point UD lead with under two minutes to play in the half. The Ramblers were on a 7-0 run over 1:13.
• Dayton went into the locker room with a two-point advantage despite an 8-0 run by Loyola to end the half.

3^rd Quarter: Dayton 43, Loyola Chicago 42

• The second half started similar to the first half with both teams slow to get going offensively as they traded buckets over the first four minutes and the margin not changing.
• Loyola hit a three at the 5:47 mark to take the lead back 31-30, but Perez answered to put UD back on top going into the media timeout.
• Out of the break, junior Shannon Wheeler drilled a corner three followed by a layup by Jones to give the Flyers a 37-33 lead.
• It remained a close game going into the fourth quarter with the score 43-42 in favor of Dayton.

4^th Quarter: Dayton 61, Loyola Chicago 64

• The Ramblers drilled a three to start the fourth and took a 45-53 lead of their own.
• Smith scored her 10^th point of the contest, making her the first Flyer in double digits and giving the junior her 11^th double-double of the season.
• At the media break, Loyola held a 53-51 lead over Dayton.
• The Flyers matched the Ramblers with each point and stayed within a possession over the next three minutes.
• Dayton called a timeout with 1:19 to play and Loyola leading 57-54 to try and draw something up to close the gap. Smith scored out of the timeout to make it a one-point game.
• Loyola sealed the game though with an and-one play.
• Redshirt senior Destiny Bohanon hit a three with 1.6 seconds left to make it a 63-61 Loyola lead.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
11^th – Arianna Smith recorded her 11^th double-double of the year and first since Feb. 7 with team-highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
10 – Anyssa Jones chipped in 10 points and five rebounds as well.
45% to 49% - Dayton shot 45 percent in the game and 42 percent from three while Loyola shot 49 percent.
31 to 19 – The Flyers outscored the Ramblers 31-19 off the bench.

KEY STAT
16 to 6 – Loyola was 16-of-24 from the free throw line while Dayton was just 6-of-10.

UP NEXT
The Flyers play their final road game of the regular season as they head to George Mason Wednesday, Feb. 28 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.