No. 1 Seeded Women's Hoops Falls, 63-60, in Quarterfinal of A-10 Championship
March 7, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Sophomore center Ta'Shia Phillips scored 10 points and hauled in 19 rebounds but it was not enough as the No. 16/15 Xavier University women's basketball team dropped a 63-60 overtime decision to Dayton on Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Atlantic 10 Championship at Halton Arena in Charlotte, N.C. With the loss, XU's bid for a three-peat, comes up short and the team slips to 25-6 on the year while the Flyers improve to 20-12. Phillips was 5-of-14 from the floor and seven of her 19 boards came on the offensive glass. Sophomore point guard Special Jennings scored a team-high 17 points and was 4-of-6 from the 3-point arc. Junior forward April Phillips was the third Musketeer in double-figures with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. XU trailed by one at the break but built a 47-42 lead on the strength of a 10-2 run over a 3:30 stretch. The run was keyed by five consecutive points from Jennings, including an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 11:40 mark. Xavier went cold though, failing to score over a 5:40 stretch and allowing the Flyers to seize a 56-50 lead when De'Sarae Chambers scored seven consecutive points over a 1:30 span. However, XU answered the bell with a pair of 3-pointers, the first from Jennings at the top of the key and the second from Taylor from the wing with 18-seconds left. UD was unable to get a good shot off at the end of regulation, setting up the extra session. The overtime period got off to a good start as XU took a 60-56 lead after Jennings buried a floater with 3:50 to go. However, UD scored seven consecutive points to end the extra session, including a 3-pointer by Justine Raterman and a couple of free throws by Kristen Daugherty with 10-seconds left. That set up one last chance for Xavier and Tudy Reed got off a good look from 3-point land but it clanged rudely off the iron, securing the UD victory. Xavier was uncharacteristically out-rebounded by a 47-to-41 count, including 32-to-24 on the defensive glass. XU also shot just 32.9 percent from the field while Dayton shot 39.0 percent. Dayton jumped out to a 9-4 lead after Patrice Lalor drained a jumper at the 16:40 mark. XU would lock down on the defensive end though and chugged out to a 10-2 run over the next 6:10, seizing a 14-11 lead after Jerri Taylor buried a 3-pointer with 10:30 remaining in the first half. The Flyers would control most of the remainder of the first stanza, charging out to a 14-4 run over a 7:10 stretch to take a 29-22 lead with only 1:20 left before halftime. However, XU responded by burying a couple of 3-pointers to end the half. Tyeasha Moss got the mini-run started by banking in a 3-pointer from the wing and then Tudy Reed nailed one with only 10-seconds remaining, shrinking the UD lead to just one point, 29-28, at the break.
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