Jan. 4, 2006

Box Score |  Quotes

AMHERST, Mass. - Some say that good things come to those who wait. The same could be said for the Dayton women's basketball team who defeated Massachusetts 57-51 on Wednesday in a rescheduled Atlantic 10 Conference game at the Mullins Center.

The Flyers (9-3, 1-0 A-10) won their conference opener for the first time since the 2002-03 season while the homestanding Minutewomen fell to 3-9, 0-1 A-10 in game that was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was rescheduled for Wednesday due to travel problems that prevented Dayton from arriving in Amherst.

The duo of junior Jennifer Strong and sophomore Nikki Oakland led all players with 15 and 14 points respectively. Strong connected on 7-of-17 shots from the field while pulling down five rebounds. Oakland made 5-of-6 attempts from the field and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line for a career high in scoring to go along with five rebounds of her own.

Dayton out shot UMass 39.3 percent to 35.3 percent from the field and held the Minutewomen without a three-point basket. UD hit three trifectas and 10-of-12 shots from the free throw line

Oakland surpassed her career high in points before halftime as she led both teams with 13 on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the field. She was also the only Flyer to make it to the free throw line where she hit 3-of-4 shots. In contrast, the Minutewomen went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Dayton connected on nearly half of its shots from the field in the first half (13-of-29) and played solid defense holding UMass to 30.4 percent shooting (7-for-23) and forcing 14 turnovers en route to a 30-23 halftime lead.

After falling behind by double-digits in the second half, UMass came back with a 15-6 run over the next eight minutes to close the Dayton advantage to 51-49 with 2:35 remaining.

The Minutewomen then knotted the score at 51-all on a layup by Pam Rosanio with 1:59 left. However, Strong responded with jumper in the lane on the next trip down the court just 18 seconds later which put Dayton ahead for good at 53-31. The Flyers also hit 4-of-4 free throw attempts down the stretch while holding the Minutewomen without a basket for nearly two minutes to finish the game for a 57-51 Dayton victory.

The Flyers will remain on the road to face George Washington on Friday in another Atlantic 10 Conference game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in the nation's capital.