OLEAN, N.Y. - The University of Dayton women's basketball team finished up the regular season at St. Bonaventure University with a 67-57 victory.
The Flyers (17-12, 11-7 A-10) finish the year on a three-game winning streak while the Bonnies (6-23, 2-16 A-10) drop their final home contest.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 20, St. Bonaventure 13
- The hosts got off to the initial lead with a three from their lone senior on senior day, but UD senior Arianna Smith answered with a couple of free throws and a putback to put the visitors ahead 4-3 in the opening 1:30.
- Both teams settled in defensively and the Flyers held a 10-5 advantage midway through the quarter.
- Senior Shannon Wheeler nailed a corner three to make it an eight-point game.
- A steal and layup by junior Nayo Lear gave Dayton its first double-digit lead of the contest with 3:14 on the clock.
- The Flyers outrebounded the Bonnies 14-3 in the opening 10 minutes including 7-0 on the offensive glass.
2nd Quarter: Dayton 34, St. Bonaventure 29
- Smith and grad student Rikki Harris got back to the free throw line early and knocked down a pair each to get UD's lead back to double figures.
- SBU managed to put a 5-0 run together while Dayton struggled with a few turnovers.
- The Bonnies called a timeout with 6:15 on the clock as they had closed the gap to six, 28-22.
- The Flyers went over 2:30 without a point before Smith hit another free throw and three more from senior Ivy Wolf to make it 34-24 and just over two to go in the half.
- Smith led the way with a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
- Dayton outrebounded St. Bonaventure 28-11 including 12-0 on the offensive boards.
3rd Quarter: Dayton 51, St. Bonaventure 42
- The Bonnies struck first again to make it a three-point contest, but Wolf answered with a three.
- St. Bonaventure hit a transition three at the 7:11 mark to force a Dayton timeout and a one-point game, 37-36.
- Harris converted an and-one out of the timeout and forced a turnover on the other end to get momentum back in Dayton's favor.
- The Flyers got into the bonus with 2:10 to go in the quarter and took advantage of the free opportunities.
4th Quarter: Dayton 67, St. Bonaventure 57
- Smith got her sixth bucket of the game and put UD up 11 on the first possession of the quarter.
- Neither team was willing to budge over the next few minutes as points became hard to come by.
- By the media timeout, the Flyers had a seven-point lead with 4:24 on the clock.
- The Bonnies earned their way to the charity stripe and scored six straight off free throws.
- Lear took over for Dayton and scored eight straight points.
- UD managed to step it up on the defensive end and held on for the win.
KEY STATS
13
th –
Arianna Smith recorded her 13
th double-double of the season with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
16 and 15 –
Ivy Wolf had 16 points and
Rikki Harris had 15 points while they combined to go a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line.
10 –
Nayo Lear rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points, including eight straight for the Flyers in the fourth.
45-25 – Dayton outrebounded St. Bonaventure 45-25 in the contest and 16-1 on the offensive boards.
5+ - For the second straight season, the Flyers improved their win total by at least five games.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will head to Henrico, Va. next week to play in the A-10 Championship Tournament with their first game taking place Thursday. The full bracket will be announced Saturday evening.
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