CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | PHOTOS | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
PITTSBURGH – Fourth-seeded Dayton Flyers defeated fifth-seeded Davidson, 84-67, in an all-around effort to advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship.
The Flyers were led in scoring by Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team guard Jayla Scaife who contributed 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Scaife also recorded her 1,000th career point in this game, while senior guard Lauren Cannatelli added 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
“I am really proud of how we came out, our execution and our defense,” Dayton coach Shauna Green said. “I thought we did a great job of shutting down who we needed to shut down. They beat us on the boards last time, so that was a big focus this game.”
Dayton (17-12) controlled play early on, shooting at a 71.4% clip in the first quarter and opening up a 25-16 advantage.
As Dayton extended its lead in the second quarter, Davidson had to contend with foul trouble for three of its top contributors as Sarah Donovan, Justine Lyon and Katie Turner each picked up their second fouls.
Though Davidson went on a 6-0 run from the end of the second quarter, Dayton was able to effectively use the paint to maintain its double-digit advantage. Dayton finished with scoring 40 of its 84 points in the paint.
Davidson had three players reach double figures, with All-Conference Third Team and Sixth Women of the Year Justine Lyon scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. All-Conference Second Team selection Sarah Donovan added 16 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Cassidy Gould rounded out the trio with 14 points.
The Wildcats fell to 17-14 overall with Friday’s loss.
With the win Dayton has now secured its 11th Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals berth in the past 12 seasons.
Dayton will face top-seeded VCU, which defeated Saint Joseph’s in earlier quarterfinal action, Saturday. That game will tip off at 11:00 a.m. ET and be televised by CBS Sports Network.