DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball team hosts VCU Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. at UD Arena in the regular season finale. It will be Senior Day with a pregame ceremony taking place prior to the game. 

SCOUTING THE FLYERS 
Dayton heads into the final contest with a 15-13 record on the year and an 8-9 Atlantic 10 mark, putting them in 8th in the league standings. A win would go a long way in solidifying the Flyers' position heading into the tournament. 

Head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter is in her fourth season in charge of her hometown Flyers, coming over after a year at Wittenberg. She has assistant coaching stops at Kansas, Kentucky, Penn State, and Ohio State. 

The Flyers are averaging 66.1 points per game and giving up 67.5 points to opponents. Dayton is shooting 43.5 percent overall, 30.6 percent from three point range, and 66.9 percent from the free throw line. UD benefits from a +4.9 rebounding margin, but is committing more 4.4 more turnovers. 

Leading the way is senior Nayo Lear with 14.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while graduate student Nicole Stephens is adding 11.0 points and 3.7 assists each contest. The sophomore duo of Olivia Leung and Molly O'Riordan have been their best basketball recently as well, combining for 15.5 points each game. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
VCU
VCU has had a rough go of late with a seven-game losing streak, an 8-21 record overall, and 4-13 A-10 mark. The Rams are 1-9 on the road this season and hoping to finish the regular season on a positive note as they head into the postseason. 

Interim head coach Kirk Crawford has been with the Rams for nine seasons and has previously led the program for nine games in 2024-25. 

As a team, VCU is scoring 56.7 points each contest and allowing 67.2 points to opposing squads. The Rams are averaging 37.2 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from behind the arc, and 65.7 percent from the charity stripe. 

Leading scorer Mary-Anna Asare has been out for all but seven games this season, leaving the bulk of the work load to Katarina Knezevic with 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cyriah Griffin is chipping in 7.7 points each outing while Mackennah White is contributing 7.0 points. 

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton avenged its home loss from earlier in the season with a 67-58 win at Loyola Chicago Wednesday night, overcoming a first-half deficit. Molly O'Riordan and Nayo Lear both had double-doubles to pace the Flyers. 

VCU suffered a 54-71 defeat at the hands of La Salle Wednesday night as well. The Rams managed just 20 first-half points while the Explorers had 26 in the second quarter alone. Katarina Knezevic led VCU with 14 points and 13 boards. 

SERIES HISTORY
Dayton and VCU are meeting for the 21st time in program history with the Flyers holding a 14-6 series advantage including last year's contest, a 69-49 victory in Richmond.

UP NEXT
Dayton will head down to Virginia for the 2026 Atlantic 10 Championship at the Henrico Sports & Events Center next week. 

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