Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UConn blows out Dayton; Red Storm sneak past Temple

After winning its first two games of the World Vision Classic over Buffalo and Fairleigh Dickinson, the Dayton women’s basketball team entered the championship game against No. 2 Connecticut feeling good about its chances.

However, the Flyers were no match for the storied Huskies, who routed them, 78-38, on Sunday to take the early-season tournament.

UConn’s defense had no issues containing the Flyers (3-3), limiting their shot selection and only allowing them to shoot 14-for-51 (27.5 percent) from the field. Meanwhile, the Huskies (6-0) shot 25-for-49 (51 percent) and with the victory, they set an NCAA record with their 89th consecutive home win.

After falling behind, 10-0, out of the gate, Dayton senior De’Sarae Chambers put up the first point for the Flyers after going 1-2 on her first free throw attempts of the game. Chambers and sophomore Cassie Sant – who played the least amount of minutes for the Flyers (11) – led Dayton’s scoring with eight points apiece.

UConn freshman, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, was the face of the first half, scoring 19 points, which was three more than the entire Flyers team combined. The three-time member of the USA women’s basketball team put in four more points in the second half to put her total at 23 in the contest.

The Flyers, who have gone 324 straight games scoring at least one 3-pointer, had their streak on the line until Chambers finally hit a trey with less than seven minutes remaining in the second half. Dayton was a season low 3-for-23 (13 percent) from behind the arc.

It was only the seventh time in team history that the Flyers lost by at least 40 points, but they still were able to crawl away from the tournament as the runner-up.

Dayton will next take on Boston College at home Sunday afternoon, followed by a Tuesday night game against Wright State.

Red Storm take down Owls

In its last game of the Junkanoo Jam tournament in the Bahamas, Temple hoped to defeat St. Johns on Saturday afternoon and pull out of its three-game losing skid. However, despite a double-digit lead midway through the first half, the Owls ended up relinquishing the lead and in the end came out on the short end of a 59-53 defeat.

Temple (2-4) dominated the first half of the game, nearly doubling the shooting percentage of the Red Storm. They were led throughout by senior guard Shey Peddy, who scored a game-high 16 points. Senior Kristen McCarthy also scored in the double-digits, netting 11 points while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.

Despite the early deficit, St. Johns (3-3) came back and took control of the second half, shooting more than 50 percent from the field.  The Red Storm took their first lead of the game with about eight minutes remaining, and they never looked back from there.

The lead was as many as six for St. Johns, but in the final minute, the Owls  cut the lead to two when senior B.J. Williams hit two free throws, making the score 55-53.

However, that was the last chance Temple got as they surrendered four more points and ultimately their fourth consecutive loss.

The Owls will travel to New Jersey on Wednesday in their sixth and final game of their current road trip. It will be their biggest challenge yet, as they hope to end their struggles against No. 13 Rutgers.

Taylor Snow can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Snow.

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