Dayton Women’s Basketball loses in the A-10 championship game

Wilmington, DE — The University of Dayton women’s basketball lost to the UMass Minutemen Sunday afternoon in the finals of the Atlantic 10 championship, 62-56, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, DE.

Makira Cook led UD with 18 points while grad student Erin Whalen added 13. But both struggled shooting from the field; Cook made only 5-15 shots while Whalen shot 4-11, including 3-11 from three-point range.

The Flyers shot 39 percent for the game (39 percent) while UMass made 46 percent of their shots, including 56 percent in the first half. Dayton falls to 25-5 overall and will wait to find out if they are in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament next Sunday.

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UMass had four players in double players including a game-high 19 points from Sam Breen. Ber’Nyah Mayo added 14 points while Sydney Taylor and Makennah White each scored 10 points. The Minutewomen outrebounded the Flyers, 34-26, and had 11 second chance points. UMass clinches the Atlantic 10′s automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Dayton led, 2-0, to start the game after a basket by Tenin Magassa but Breen made the first of her three treys to put UMass up for good, 3-2. The Minutewomen outscored UD, 20-11, in the first quarter. The Flyers cut it within two points, 30-28, with 2:32 left in the first half but UMass scored seven straight points to end the half and led, 37-28, at the break.

UMass led by as much as fifteen points in the third quarter, 52-37. Dayton made a furious comeback in the final quarter as Cook and Whalen each made a trey to get within four points, 58-54, with 1:05 remaining. But the Minutewomen made four free throws to seal the championship.

Dayton’s Makira Cook was named to the all-tournament team while Sydney Taylor and Sam Breen were named for UMass. Breen was named the A-10 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

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