UD women slam Xavier for 20th win

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) -  

The No. 18/15 Dayton women’s basketball team took down Xavier 78-68 Thursday night at UD Arena in front of 2,681 fans. The Flyers move to 20-1 and 8-0 in conference play. This is the first time in program history Dayton has reached 20+ wins in six consecutive seasons.
 

Dayton shot 27-of-60 overall in the game and 9-of-25 from three. Its defense forced 19 Xavier turnovers while UD only coughed it up 10 times. The Flyer bench outscored Xavier 28-13.
 

The Flyers were led by senior Sam MacKay’s 18 points off 7-of-14 shooting. MacKay also totaled seven assists to lead the team. Four other Flyers also scored in double figures. Freshman Amber Deane had 12 while sophomore Ally Malott, freshman Kelley Austria and senior Olivia Applewhite all scored 11.
 

In the first half the Flyers went 13-of-32 from the field and 6-of-17 from three. Dayton was out rebounded 26-16 but did force 13 Xavier turnovers. Dayton also accumulated five blocks in the first half.
 

Dayton was led by MacKay who paced all scorers in the first half with 12 points. She also tallied a first half high four assists.
 

Deane added seven points and Malott added six on two threes.
 

After a slow start Dayton tied the game at nine when Malott sank a three with 11:58 left in the first half.
 

MacKay broke an 11-11 tie hitting a jumper with 9:25. She then nailed a three to put the Flyers up 16-11. After a Xavier basket Applewhite and Austria combined for five points to give Dayton an eight-point lead.
 

UD opened the game up going on an 11-3 run from the 8:49 point until 3:52 taking a 27-16 lead. Dayton finished the half leading 33-26.
 

In the second half Dayton went 14-of-28 from the field. Applewhite scored nine points in the second half while Austria added eight.
 

The Musketeers started the half on a 10-3 run but Andrea Hoover halted their momentum with a three from the corner with 15:51 left in the game to put the Flyers up 39-36. This sparked a 12-3 run.
 

Dayton outscored Xavier 21–7 from the 15:51 mark until 9:03 left. This included a 7-0 run highlighted by another MacKay three.
 

The Flyers travel to Bronx, N.Y. to take on Fordham Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m.