By Julian Mackool, Sports Staffer
DAYTON, Ohio — The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team fell to the Dayton Flyers 75-71 Wednesday night at the University of Dayton Arena.
Both teams traded points in the first quarter. Flyers senior guard Nicole Stephens hit a 3-pointer with 0:32 left to put Dayton ahead 15-12.
The Bonnies responded in the second quarter. Graduate student guard Laycee Drake made a 3-pointer to give Bonaventure its first lead. Drake made a layup to extend the Bonnies’ lead to three. The Flyers called a timeout with 5:10 left in the second quarter, trailing 22-19.
Stephens scored twice for the Flyers late in the second quarter to put Dayton ahead 32-29 at halftime.
The third quarter continued with lead changes, ending with the Flyers’ biggest advantage at 55-50 after a jumper by senior guard Shantavia Dawkins.
The Bonnies cut the deficit in the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Olivia DiFranco’s layup tied the game at 66 with 3:03 left. Flyers’ sophomore guard Olivia Leung responded with a 3-pointer to reclaim a 69-66 lead with 2:48 left. The Bonnies never took the lead again.
Leung, who shot from 40% from beyond the arc, led the Flyers with 20 points. Stephens tallied 19 points and shot 57% from the field. Drake scored 29 points for Bonnies. She shot 60% from the field and 50% from three.
Bonaventure (12–10, 3-7 A-10) travels to Chicago to face Loyola Chicago (9-11, 5-4 A-10) on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. on ESPN+. Dayton (11–10, 4-6 A-10) hosts George Washington on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. at UD Arena on USA Network.
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