#8 VCU had the top-seeded Dayton Flyers on the ropes all afternoon, but a steal, followed by a transition basket from freshman Celeste Edwards with six seconds left gave Dayton a 62-61 victory in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Tournament.
Another freshman, VCU's Keira Robinson, was fouled at mid-court with 3.3 seconds left. After making the first, Dayton called timeout. Robinson's second shot veered to the left, landed in the Flyers' hands, and they ran out the clock.
"The timeout really didn't affect me. I should've made it," a dejected Robinson told reporters after the game.
"There were many plays that affected the outcome of the game, not just that one shot. If we make them, we're not in that position to have to make the free throw," noted VCU head coach Marlene Stollings.
Robyn Parks fought through the tall trees of Dayton to score 19 points and grab 16 rebounds. Robinson and Isis Thorpe added 10 each, Thorpe's all coming in the first half.
The Rams started off hot and, at one time, had an 18-point lead at 28-10. Dayton head coach Jim Jabir had seen this before.
"We saw them lose an 18-point lead just yesterday, so I told the team just to be level-headed."
"We just had to keep fighting," said Andrea Hoover, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year who finished with 15 points, playing the final seven plus minutes with four fouls. "Even when shots wouldn't fall, we trusted in Celeste running the point and in our teammates doing what we needed."
Hoover noted changing her aggressive defensive style while hampered with the fouls, until about two minutes left. Then she resumed her regular style.
Dayton's trapping, especially near mid-court, exposed what Stollings called a "lack of aggressiveness" by her team, not crisply passing or coming to the ball. That was a big part of why Dayton made their way back into the game.
But for a time, it looked like Dayton wouldn't get over the hump. In the final five minutes, there was a two-minute stretch where the Flyers went 3-of-7, missing two chances to tie the game at the line.
"We'll have to play better, play smarter tomorrow. We'll have to defend better tomorrow as well," Jabir said.
Another key for Dayton in the second half was 6' 4" junior forward Ally Malott. 14 of her team-high 19 points came after intermission.
VCU is now 22-9, and hope through the Coliseum following the heartbreaker was that the Rams might continue their season in the WNIT. Whether they do or not, Stollings is upbeat about the future.
"It's full speed ahead for year three, with all the players coming back and the recruiting class we have coming in as we try to become an elite team, a Top 25 team like the men have," Stollings proclaimed.
Dayton entered the day as a #6 seed in ESPN's NCAA Tournament Bracketology. They'll leave it simply breathing a sigh of relief.
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