"George Washington punched us in the mouth last Saturday," Dayton head coach Jim Jabir said. It was his mission to ensure his Dayton Flyers counterpunched.
Boy, did they ever.
Disrupting the offensive rhythm of the Colonials and their inside star, Jonquel Jones, while improving their perimeter and inside shooting as the game progressed, Dayton ran away from George Washington for an 89-68 win to advance to Sunday's Atlantic 10 Women's Tournament Championship.
"They added an element of physicality to their game. There were no easy cuts. We just couldn't get going," said George Washington head coach Jonathan Tsipis.
After hitting two from outside, the Colonials went ice cold in a stretch of a first half which saw them finish at 18.2% shooting (6-for-33). Add to that Dayton's ability to take away George Washington's usual strength of an advantage in rebounding, and it was a recipe for a Flyers' masterpiece.
Inside, Ally Malott had 19 points, 9 rebounds, six of them offensive. Cassie Sant added 10 points and keyed the disruption of Jones, held to just 6 points after scoring 22, mostly inside, in the Colonials' 88-79 win over Dayton last Saturday.
"That was the best defensive performance Cassie Sant has ever had, and that's not hyperbole," Jabir said.
"Credit to my teammates. The guards were doing their work, helping us out, too," Sant noted.
George Washington improves from 14-16 last year, losing in the A-10 Quarterfinals to Dayton to 21-10, a Semifinalist, and a likely participant in the upcoming WNIT. Tsipis is ready for the challenge and the reward of the postseason, something not seen in GW land for quite some time.
Dayton improves to 23-6 and awaits the winner of Fordham/St. Bonaventure in tomorrow's 11AM Championship Game to be televised on ESPNU.
RVA Sports Network Coverage of Women's Basketball, Part of Our Year Of Women's Sports Initiative!
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