Nov. 21, 2004

Box Score

The University of Dayton women's basketball team needed one more basket Sunday afternoon, falling by one to Chicago State, 56-55, in its home opener. Cara Wright posted her second-straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Emily Williams led all scorers with 15 points.

The Flyers (1-1), had the chance to win in the final seconds, but Jennifer Strong's shot rimmed out after the buzzer. Strong finished with six points and six rebounds, while Williams added eight boards to go with her game-high point total. Terri Ramsey finished with 10 points and five assists. Tina Hill led CSU with 15 points.

Both teams came out with high-percentage looks, as UD connected on seven of their first 10 shots and Chicago State on seven of 11 as the game was tied 17-17 with 11:41 to go in the first half.

A three by Tina Hill put CSU up 24-19, the Flyers closed the gap to 28-25 on two jumpers in the paint from Leslie Burns.

The Flyers held Chicago State to force a shot-clock violation and then Ramsey cut through the paint and laid it in for a 29-28 Dayton lead. Wright followed with two buckets inside in the final minute of the half, as UD took a 35-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, the game turned into a slug-fest as teams combined to score 44 points and shoot 13 of 58 combined.

The Flyers saw the Cougars whittle the lead down to one at 42-41 before back-to-back jumpers from Strong and Ramsey put the Flyers up by five again.

But after an offensive put-back by CSU's Hill, teammate Chandra Timberlake tied the game with a jumper at the 8:40 mark. Hill followed with a three to put the Cougars up 49-46, but the Flyers fought back.

After trading points, Strong connected on a three to tie the game for the second time, at 52-52 with 3:38 to go. The Flyers held CSU to a hurried shot-clock beater on the next possession, but Timberlake got her own rebound and put it back up and in for the lead.

After a free throw from Ramsey, Timberlake hit another to give CSU a 56-53 lead. The Flyers couldn't convert on the next possession, but got a blocked shot on the defensive end from Wright. Williams knocked down a pair of free throws with 51 seconds remaining, and Strong came up with a block to give UD the ball back with 32 seconds to go.

Williams drove the lane, but couldn't lay it in and after Wright battled for the rebound, Williams' three from the corner rimmed out, forcing Dayton to foul. Chicago State missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Cape grabbed the rebound and brought the ball up court. With time winding down, Ramsey found Strong in the corner and the sophomore got her shot off just before the buzzer.

Dayton connected on just one of 13 three-point attempts on the day, and shot 20.7 percent in the second half. The Flyers held the Cougars to 24.1 percent in the second, and 35.1 percent for the game.

Timberlake scored the final five points for Chicago State, who improve to 2-0.

The Flyers will return to the road for a Tuesday night match-up at Cleveland State. Tip-off from the CSU Convocation Center is at 7:00 p.m.