Atlantic 10 Tournament Time

The Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament begins today at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., but the Flyers won't take the court until Saturday evening. Second-seeded UD will face the winner of No. 7 St. Bonaventure/No. 10 Saint Louis at 5:30 p.m. The Bonnies and Billikens face off at 5:30 p.m. tonight. The Flyers have played and beaten both teams at UD Arena this season. Against SBU, Patrice Lalor had a career day with 16 points Jan. 16 in a 76-65 victory. UD's lone senior, Kendel Ross, recorded a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Flyers used their size to batter the Bonnies, outscoring SBU 42-16 in the paint. Against the Billikens, 13 Flyers scored points in a 73-54 victory on Feb. 7. Ross again led the effort with 14 points, while junior Kristin Daugherty and sophomore De'Sarae Chambers each added 10 points.

Dayton (23-6, 11-3) has to be viewed as one of the tournament contender. UD only lost three times in the A-10 during the regular season, and two of thoe defeats came to top-seeded Xavier. The Musketeers (24-3, 13-0) are ranked fifth in the nation and are the clear favorites, although UD did beat Xavier in the A-10 tournament last season. Temple (22-7, 11-3) and Charlotte (16-12, 9-5) also have first-round byes.

Here's a look at the today's A-10 tournament action:

• No. 8 Richmond (18-11, 7-7) vs. No. 9 UMass (11-18, 5-9) at Noon - Winner plays No. 1 Xavier; UR won the regular season meeting 73-62 at UMass.
• No. 5 Saint Joseph's (16-13, 9-5) vs. No. 12 Fordham (8-21, 2-11) at 2:30 p.m. - Winner plays No. 4 Charlotte; SJU won earlier meeting 62-57 in what was both teams' A-10 opener.
• No. 7 St. Bonaventure (21-8, 9-5) vs. No. 10 Saint Louis (11-18, 5-9) at 5:30 p.m. - Winner plays UD; SBU beat SLU 75-63 earlier this season.
• No. 6 Duquesne (19-10, 9-5) vs. No. 11 George Washington (6-21, 3-11) at 8 p.m. - Winner play No. 3 Temple; The Dukes beat GW 66-64 in the regular season meeting.