DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball team fell to Loyola Chicago in a tight contest Wednesday night at UD Arena.
The Flyers (8-7, 1-3 A-10) mounted an impressive comeback after entering the fourth quarter down by 19 points, but the Ramblers (5-10, 1-3 A-10) would ultimately prevail by three in the final seconds of the game.
Junior
Ajok Madol led the team in both points and rebounds with 14 and seven. Senior
Nayo Lear was close behind her with 13 points. Graduate Student
Nicole Stephens and Sophomore
Olivia Leung scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the double-digit scorers for the Flyers.
GAME BREAKDOWN
1st Quarter: Dayton 16, Loyola Chicago 19
- After Loyola started the scoring, Shantavia Dawkins got the Flyers on the board by hitting a layup through a foul and converting the and-one opportunity to give the Flyers an early 3-2 lead.
- The Ramblers rattled off five straight points before Dawkins got to the line again, knocking down one attempt to pull UD within three.
- Nayo Lear intercepted a pass for a steal and took it all the way to the basket for her first basket of the game, tying the score at seven with five minutes left in the quarter.
- Ajok Madol gave Dayton their first lead of the night at 9-7 with a pair of free throws at the 4:26 mark.
- Fatima Ibrahim scored the first Dayton field goal in over four and a half minutes with a layup off a Madol assist to cut the deficit to three at 16-19 at the break.
2nd Quarter: Dayton 27, Loyola Chicago 41
- After five unanswered Rambler points to start the period, Madol scored her first field goal of the game to push the Flyers back within six at 18-24.
- After a Loyola response, Ibrahim made a layup off an offensive rebound to keep the deficit at six.
- A 13-0 run from Loyola over more than five minutes saw them jump ahead 39-21 until Madol finally broke through by hitting a fast break layup with 1:33 left in the half.
- Madol continued to be a go-to scorer for the Flyers as she converted a tough layup to make the score 25-41 in the final minute of the half.
- After grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed free throw from Madol, Molly O'Riordan scored a putback basket, giving UD a four-point possession to cut the deficit to 41-27 going into half.
3rd Quarter: Dayton 42, Loyola Chicago 61
- Madol scored the Flyers' first points of the game at the free throw line, making the score 29-43 with nine minutes left in the quarter, as she became the first UD player in double figures with 10 points.
- After a Loyola basket, Lear put the deficit back at 14 with a smooth mid-range jumper.
- M.G. Talle scored her first points off the basket with a post layup through a foul and a successful and-one to bring the Flyers back within 15 at 35-50 with 4:17 left in the third quarter.
- Talle then scored her second consecutive basket off an assist from Lear on the next possession to inch UD closer still.
- Maliyah Johnson then hit her first field goal of the game in the post to push the Flyer run to 8-0 over nearly three minutes, making the score 39-50 with 2:44 left in the third.
- Loyola quickly put together an 11-0 run of their own, which saw five Dayton turnovers, but Olivia Leung knocked down a three-pointer, the first of the game for the Flyers, in the final minute to make the score 42-61 going into the final period.
4th Quarter: Dayton 68, Loyola Chicago 71
- Madol got the fourth quarter scoring started with a layup on the opening possession.
- She would score on the next possession as well with a putback lay-in after grabbing an offensive rebound to bring it back within 15 at 46-61.
- Lear made a layup through a foul, and Nicole Stephens hit a mid-range jumper, also while being fouled, after an offensive rebound, giving the Flyers five straight points before Loyola regained possession and cut the deficit to 10 with 7:46 left.
- On the next possession, Lear scored again to extend the run to 11-0 and got the Flyers back within single digits at 53-61.
- Leung then knocked down her second triple of the game, to bring Dayton within five with 4:08 left to play.
- Lear continued her hot second half with a driving layup on the next possession, UD's sixth make on their last six field goal attempts, making it a one-score game at 58-61 with 3:27 on the clock.
- Loyola scored their first points of the fourth quarter with two minutes remaining to push its lead back to five, but Leung responded with another three-pointer, making it a 61-63 game with 1:42 to play.
- Loyola would hit a deep three as the shot clock expired to push their lead back up to five in the final minute, but Lear kept it at a one-score game at 65-68 as she converted twice at the free throw line with 46 seconds to play.
- Loyola would extend their lead back to six, but a Stephens transition three fouled by an offensive foul on Loyola gave the Flyers the ball back down three with nine seconds left. UD would turn the ball over on its final possession and ultimately fall just short.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
UP NEXT
The Flyers will next play on Saturday, January 10, when they travel to New York to take on Fordham. The game will tip off at 2 p.m.
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