Nov. 25, 2008

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Dayton scored on five of its eight possessions in overtime to allow the Flyers to post a 64-58 victory over the Navy women's basketball team, Tuesday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis.

Three of Navy's last four games have come down to a possession with less than 10 seconds left to play in regulation.

"All of this is great learning for us," said Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper. "Dayton is a really good team, they had their best year in a long time last year and they have a real winning mentality. For us to come out here and almost get a win is real encouraging."

The Flyers used a 15-2 run to turn a 37-32 deficit midway through the second half into a 47-39 lead with 4:27 left to play in regulation. The Dayton advantage remained at six points with just under two minutes left to play and it was still a five-point lead for the Flyers with 28 seconds left after Kristin Daugherty scored on a jumper.

Kalen Kropa (Sr., Reidsville, N.C.) missed a shot for the Mids on their next possession, but K.C. Gordon (Jr., Vienna, Va.) was there for the offensive rebound and putback to pull Navy to within 53-50 with 16 seconds showing on the clock. Angela Myers (So., San Antonio, Texas) promptly fouled Patrice Lalor with 10 seconds left, but Lalor missed both attempts from the foul line. The Mids hustled down the court and put the ball into Whitney Davidson's (Sr., New Oxford, Pa.) hands. The senior, who was named to the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic All-Tournament team this past weekend, drained a three-point field goal with less than four seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Dayton turned the ball over on the first possession of the extra period, then Navy totaled four missed shots on its initial time down the floor, with the possession finally ending on a steal by Justine Raterman. That theft led to a layup for Lalor to give the Flyers the first points of overtime. Navy's next possession also ended with a steal by the Flyers, and Dayton converted that Navy turnover into a three-point field goal by Daugherty and a 58-53 lead.

The Mids answered with a three-pointer of their own by Myers to cut the deficit down to 58-56, but Raterman scored on a jumper to push the Dayton advantage back to four points midway through the period. Gordon missed an inside shot for the Mids on the next Navy possession, with Nance converting on the other end to make it a six-point lead with two minutes left.

After Davidson made a pair of free throws with 90 seconds left to pull Navy to within four points, both teams failed to score on either of their respective ensuing times down the court. Navy's next possession ended when Gordon was whistled for an illegal screen with 13 seconds left to play. The Mids immediately fouled and sent Kayla Moses to the line where she sank both attempts from the charity stripe to seal the win for the Flyers.

"We had very good execution tonight," said Pemper. "We did a nice job defensively, we played their tendencies pretty well and did a great job on their leading scorer. We played a good game, a very good game. I am encouraged."

Both teams made 22 field goals and shot roughly 38 percent from the floor during regulation, but the Flyers were 4-of-6 from the field during overtime while the Mids made just 1-of-9 attempts over the extra five minutes of play. Additionally at the end of the 40 minutes of play, Navy had made nine three-point field goals and no free throws (on three attempts), while Dayton failed to convert on any three-point attempts but sank nine free throws (on 21 attempts).

Dayton concluded the 45 minutes of play with nine turnovers, eight blocks and nine steals, while Navy recorded 18 turnovers, one block and two steals during the game.

Davidson scored 16 points to lead all players in the game, while Erin Edwards (Fr., Hockessin, Del.) added a season-best 12 points and Myers tallied 11 points. Cassie Consedine (So., Bartlesville, Okla.) scored just four points, but hauled in a Navy-high 10 caroms in the contest.

"Erin takes what comes to her, she plays really poised and solid and has a good feel for the game," said Pemper.

Dayton also saw three of its players score in double figures, with Kendel Ross posting a team-high 12 points and a game-best 16 rebounds.

Navy will continue its homestand Friday night when the Mids play host to Saint Francis (Pa.) in a 7 p.m. game in Alumni Hall.