BRONX, N.Y. - The University of Dayton women's basketball team traveled to New York Saturday where it defeated Fordham University, 66-58, in Atlantic 10 action.

The Flyers (9-7, 2-3 A-10) earned a big road victory while the Rams (8-8, 0-5 A-10) still look for their first league win.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 18, Fordham 18

• Fordham won the tip and worked quickly to score in the opening eight seconds with a pullup jumper, taking the initial lead.
• Senior Nayo Lear answered though with a jumper of her own less than a minute later to put UD on the board.
• Lear did the same thing at the 6:47 mark to even the score once again, 4-4.
• By the media break, the Flyers led 8-6 with junior Fatima Ibrahim coming out of the timeout with a free throw to complete the and-one.
• Ibrahim continued to pound the ball inside and scored the next three points to make it an 11-7 UD lead.
• Dayton then went cold from the field over the next few minutes without a point as Fordham took the lead back, 13-11 with just over two on the clock.
• Lear broke free again to even the score at 13-13 with her fourth basket and time running down in the first. She added another three and a field goal to give her 13 points in the opening quarter.

2nd Quarter: Dayton 31, Fordham 31

• The defenses settled in and upped the intensity early on in the second quarter with neither team able to score in the opening two minutes.
• The physicality led to foul trouble for starters on both teams.
• The Rams pulled ahead by four, 22-18, with just over six minutes to go in the half and the Flyers looking for their first basket.
• With 5:24 in the game, Ibrahim gathered the pass from junior Jayda Johnson for the basket, ending the drought.
• Ibrahim had all the points in the second for Dayton until a putback by grad student Maliyah Johnson at the 2:58 mark.
• Fordham managed to take a five-point lead with under two to go, 29-24.
• Graduate student Nicole Stephens had six seconds to get down the court and hit a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game up at 31-31.
• Dayton outrebounded Fordham 26-16 in the first half and a 12-3 second-chance points advantage.

3rd Quarter: Dayton 44, Fordham 48

• Sophomore Molly O'Riordan found herself open at the top of the key on the first possession and nailed a big three to get the Flyers off on the right foot.
• The two teams traded buckets over the next few minutes with neither team willing to give up momentum.
• The score remained within a field goal, one way or the other, as we approached the midway point of the third.
• With 4:53 to go, the Flyers held a 41-37 advantage as the Rams were on a 2+ minute scoring drought.
• Fordham nailed a three after the timeout though and added another bucket to take a 42-41 lead with under four to go. That turned into a 9-2 run, putting Dayton in a four-point deficit.
• The Flyers went the final 6:13 of the quarter without a field goal.

4th Quarter: Dayton 66, Fordham 58

• The pace was slow early on in the fourth with both teams trying to take control of the game.
• As the clock ticked under eight minutes left, the tempo picked up and Fordham pushed its margin to six, 52-46.
• Lear was able to get a bucket and drew the foul as the Flyers hoped to fight their way back into the lead.
• Fordham called a timeout with 6:16 on the clock and a 52-50 lead with Dayton turning the ball over and having possession.
• Lear tied the game up at 52-52 with a pullup and the time ticking under five.
• With 3:22 to go, sophomore Olivia Leung hit a big three to give UD its first lead since the 5:09 mark in the third.
• Fordham answered though and tied it back up at 55-55.
• Lear then put UD up once again with a nice drive to the basket. That put UD up two with just over a minute left.
• At the :32 mark, Lear drove and got the and-one to give her a new career-high 30 points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
30 – Nayo Lear finished with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go with five rebounds and four assists.
1^st – Saturday's victory was the first for head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter at Fordham and the first win for the Flyers at Rose Hill Gym since 2022.
6's – Nicole Stephens finished the game with 10 points, but was 6-of-6 at the free throw line and had six rebounds.
12 and 11 – Fatima Ibrahim recorded her second double-double as a Flyer with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
51 – As a team, Dayton had a season-high 51 rebounds compared to 37 for Fordham.
 
UP NEXT
The Flyers will return home to host the University of Richmond Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at UD Arena.

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