ST. LOUIS - The University of Dayton women's basketball team headed west to take on Saint Louis University Sunday afternoon and suffered a heart-breaking 62-58 loss.

The Flyers (9-9, 2-5 A-10) fall to .500 in league play while the Billikens (10-10, 3-4 A-10) move to .500 on the year.

GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 9, Saint Louis 18

• Saint Louis was the first team to score after winning the opening tip, but Dayton made it difficult with an aggressive style of play.
• The hosts jumped out to an early 8-0 advantage in the opening five minutes before the first media timeout.
• After the break, the Billikens added a three to make it 11-0 before a drive by freshman MG Talle put the Flyers on the board with 3:53 to go in the opening quarter.
• Junior Jayda Johnson followed up with a big three to close the gap to single digits.
• Despite the slow start, the Flyers outshot the Billikens 36 percent to 33 percent.

2nd Quarter: Dayton 17, Saint Louis 32

• SLU struck first in the second, but a drive and finish from senior Nayo Lear countered the initial attack.
• The physicality picked up and the officials let them play in a tough A-10 rivalry game.
• By the 7:03 mark and a challenged call by Saint Louis, Dayton trailed 23-12 amidst a 0-for-5 shooting stretch.
• Jayda Johnson hit another three to end the skid for UD with 6:06 to go in the half.
• Both teams struggled from the field over the next few minutes with the teams combining for 2-of-21 shooting.
• Dayton went over five minutes without a field goal, but was able to chip away at the margin via the free throw line.
• The Flyers finished the quarter without a field goal for 6:06 and was 0-for-9 and 1-of-17 down the stretch. Second-chance points were 17-2 in favor of the Billikens as well.

3rd Quarter: Dayton 33, Saint Louis 46

• Dayton needed a consistent start to the second half as it faced a 15-point deficit.
• Lear and graduate student Nicole Stephens showed their veteran leadership and did just that with back-to-back layups for a quick 4-0 run in the opening 40 seconds.
• SLU answered with a three through and took its biggest lead of the game, 37-21.
• By the media break, Dayton had pulled with in 10, 38-28, during a 2:24 scoring drought for SLU.
• That score held until a pullup jumper by Stephens made it a single-digit gap, 39-30, with under three to go, forcing a SLU timeout.
• UD had cut it to seven points, but a SLU run at the end of the quarter pushed it back to 13-points.

4th Quarter: Dayton 58, Saint Louis 62

• Stephens continued to lead the Flyers and drove to the basket for UD's first points of the quarter, but she picked up her fourth foul shortly after and had to go to the bench.
• Lear then followed suit and continued to take it to the basket.
• An 8-0 UD run made it 49-43 as Dayton held SLU to a three-minute scoring drought with just over six to go in the fourth.
• That turned into a 14-2 run as Lear kept the foot on the gas, earning an and-one attempt and a two-point game.
• The clock ticked under two to play in regulation and the Flyers trailing 53-49, but it was the Billikens without a field goal for four minutes.
• In the end, SLU hit a dagger three as the shot clock expired with :31 left and that made it a six-point game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
17 – Nayo Lear had a team-high 17 points in the effort to go with six rebounds.
36% - Dayton outshot SLU in the contest 36 percent o 34 percent for the hosts.
9 – The Billikens made nine more free throws than the Flyers on 11 more attempts as well.
20-0 – UD outscored SLU 20-0 off the bench. It was the lowest total for the Billiken bench this year.
9 and 7 – Olivia Leung contributed nine points and led UD with seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Flyers will remain on the road to take on Duquesne University Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. in Pittsburgh.

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