The upset minded St. Louis Billikens (11 seed), fresh off a victory against the 49ers of Charlotte, came into this game as a confident bunch. Courtney Webb and Mallory Eggert combined for 31 points and the Billikens had four players collect at least six rebounds yesterday, and if we have learned anything lately in the sporting world, a hot team is a dangerous team in the post season. As for the favored Dayton Flyers, they have been beating teams all year long behind their workhorse Justine Raterman (14.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and ateam high 41 treys). It wasn’t Raterman on this night, but Dayton didn’t need the star to shine, as they handled their business against an overmatched St. Louis squad, 69-51.
The Flyers typically do a lot of damage in the lane, and this game started like many have for the A-10’s third seed; with a high dose of inside touches. They pounded center Casey Nance early, as she led Dayton to 10 points in the paint in the games first seven minutes. It wasn’t until Olivia Applewhite entered the game did they score from outside, as the reserve guard swished a straight on three pointer. The Billikens had a different approach, as they tried to shoot over the tall front line of UD instead of attacking the paint. By pulling the Flyer bigs out from under the rim, the Billikens dominated the offense glass and capitalized. Lorreal Jones made a nice move inside after an offensive rebound, and Janisha Gearlds stuck her nose in the middle for multiple offensive rebounds. The edge on the glass enabled St. Louis to hang around until their shooters found a rhythm, as they trailed 13-8 despite only shooting 30.8% from the field.
Big time players bail teams out when they are struggling, and leading scorer Courtney Webb (11.4ppg) did just that with back to back three pointers from the right corner. She has hit more than twice as many threes as any other Billiken, and her teammates clearly made a point of it to find Webb on the perimeter. The rebounding edge combined with the timely shooting of Webb evened the score at 18 with six minutes to play in the first half.
That was as close as the underdogs would get, as UD flexed their defensive muscle in the weening moments of the first half. The Flyers allowed only two points in the final 3:46, and closed the half on a 9-2 spurt. Samantha Mackay scored four points, including a right handed scoop, and A-10 rookie of the year Andrea Hoover made the hustle plays as Dayton distanced themselves. Hoover set up an Ally Malott triple, and then swatted a shot as Saint Louis tried to cut the margin just before the half. With a 32-22 halftime advantage, and their all world forward Raterman limited three points on 1/5 shooting, the Flyers were in perfect position to advance and to play Temple tomorrow afternoon.
Patricia Lalor came out of the locker rooms as if she were the All-American player on Dayton that kept opposing coaches up at night. The senior guard from Ohio poured in the Flyers first nine points of the second session, using a vast array of pull up jumpers. Lalor drove left, drove right, and constantly elevated above the Billiken defenders after stopping on a dime in traffic. She made more shots in the first three minutes of the second half than she did in the entire first half, and propelled her Flyers to an 18 point advantage.
Even with Dayton in cruise control, Raterman never established herself as the elite offensive threat that she has proven to be. In fact, St. Louis shut her down in their earlier meeting as well, as she has scored 16 points in 48 minutes against the Billikens this year (she averages just under 15 points per game in 28 minutes). But this Dayton team is just that; a team whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Their commitment on the defensive end held St. Louis to a anemic 30.1% shooting from the field (while no player shot better than 33%), while their balanced scoring overwhelmed the Billikens. Lalor led all scorers with 17 points, and six other players tallied at least five points.
The Billikens had three double digit scorers (Desirae Ball, Gearlds, and Webb), but failed to produce in an efficient manner. They committed 20 turnovers on the night, leading to 21 Flyer points. They also didn’t receive much scoring outside of those three, as their bench was outscored by 22 points.
Dayton will square off against the second seeded Temple Owls tomorrow at 2:30. The two teams did battle six weeks ago, with the Owls prevailing in a back and forth game, 61-57. Lalor was again the high scorer in that game, so if Raterman can find her groove, they could establish an effective inside/outside balance against the spirited group of Owls. The game will not lack star power, and with both teams looking to secure their spot in the NCAA bracket, I expect an emotional and hard fought affair.
Leave a Reply