Surging To The Semifinals

It's on to the semifinals for the University of Dayton women's basketball team at the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship in Upper Marlboro, Md. The second-seeded Flyers improved to 24-6 Saturday evening with a 83-66 victory over No. 7 St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.

The sophomores led the way to victory, scoring 54 of UD's 83 points. Justine Raterman scored a team-high 20 points, and Patrice Lalor added a career-high 18. Kayla Moses added 10 more off the bench, while Casey Nance netted five points and Elle Queen scored one.

“I feel like we beat a very good team today. It was not an easy game by any stretch. I think St. Bonaventure is one of the best coached teams in the country,” head coach Jim Jabir told DaytonFlyers.com. “I thought our defense was a little suspect, and they took advantage of it. We were able to get enough points on the board to compensate.”

St. Bonaventure (22-9) scored the game's first points on a Dana Mitchell basket, but UD reponded with a Raterman three-pointer - one that started an 8-0 run and gave the Flyers the lead for good.

UD led 37-30 at halftime thanks in part of Lalor, who scored eight of UD's last nine points of the first half. She scored 12 before halftime and continued a trend of excelling against the Bonnies. Her previous career high of 16 points also came against SBU in January.

“Last time (against SBU), I attacked, and that’s how I got a lot of my points.  I attacked and went to the hole and got fouled. I did the same thing today,” Lalor told DaytonFlyers.com. “I tried to be more aggressive because this was a really important game for us. I wanted to go out and do as much I could for the team.”

Dayton cruised to victory in the second half and set up a rematch with No. 3 Temple Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The Flyers defeated the Owls Feb. 20 in a key A-10 showdown. UD won 73-61 behind a big effort from Kendel Ross. The team's lone senior scored a team-high 16 points and became the 19th UD women's basketball player to reach the 1,000 career point mark.

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.