Jan. 14, 2007

Box Score

SAINT LOUIS - Five Flyers reached double figures in scoring as Dayton defeated Saint Louis, 74-67 in A-10 women's basketball action on Sunday. UD (6-12, 1-2 A-10) led from start to finish earning its first conference victory of the season while SLU fell to 8-9 overall and 0-3 in A-10 play.

Jennifer Strong led the Flyers with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. The senior forward has scored in double figures during 16 of 18 games this season.

Junior Kathy Guin reached double figures in scoring for the second straight game with 12 points. She added a game-high seven assists to go along with two steals and three rebounds as the Flyers snapped a six-game road losing streak.

Classmates Nikki Oakland and Brittany Holterman finished with 12 and 11 points respectively for UD. Oakland led Dayton with six rebounds and three blocks while Holterman pulled down two of her four boards on the offensive end.

Freshman Kendel Ross scored 11 first-half points off the bench for the Flyers as Dayton led by as many as 15 at point during the first half before taking a 34-25 lead into halftime.

UD scored primarily from the interior with a 40-36 advantage at points in the paint. The Flyers also had a 22-11 lead at points off turnovers.

Saint Louis was led by 22 points and 15 rebounds from Maggie Hennegan. Senior Preseason All A-10 pick Tyler McIlwraith added 11 points (all in the second half) and 10 rebounds for the Billikens.

Both teams traded interior baskets for the first 7:30 of the game as 12 of the Flyers first 15 points came in the paint. Then with 12:28 on the clock, Kendel Ross hit another layup from the right side to spark a 15-0 Flyer run. Ross had nine points during the stretch, which lasted 5:21 and gave Dayton a 30-15 advantage. Nikki Oakland, Jennifer Strong and Karah Cloxton added two points each for the Flyers.

UD took a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime behind 11 first-half points from Kendel Ross. Dayton out shot Saint Louis, 48.4 percent to 35.7 percent from the field and held a 12-4 lead at points off turnovers as well as a 22-12 advantage with points in the paint. The leading scorer for the Billikens was Katie Paganelli with 11 points. A-10 Preseason All-Conference selection Tyler McIlwraith was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Flyers stretched their lead out to as many as 11 in the second half on a pair of free throws by Kathy Guin at the 14:43 mark. Then a trey on the wing from McIlwraith pulled the Billikens to within six at the 12:58 mark.

SLU would get as close as four at 46-42 with 11:45 left, but a Flyer spurt followed to give UD another double-digit lead. Jennifer Strong hit back-to-back jumpers followed by a layup from Holterman as Dayton went ahead 52-42 with 9:26 remaining.

The margin would remain between eight and 12 points for the next nine minutes of the game until the Billiken pressure forced a Flyer turnover, which was followed by a foul and two free throws by Maggie Hennegan. SLU pulled to within five at 70-65 on a trey from Cara Young with 11 seconds left, but Dayton successfully inbounded the ball to Kiki Lund and Brittany Holterman on the final two possessions of the game. The pair was 4-for-4 at the line to ice the game for the Flyers, 74-67.

UD begins a three-game homestand against Fordham on Sunday, January 21 as the Flyers celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Fans are invited to come to the Arena early as UD women's sports teams will interactive stations set up around the concourse for you to participate. The festivities begin at Noon with the game scheduled to tipoff at 2 p.m.