Dayton Flyers
Overall Rank: #26
Conference Rank: #2 Atlantic 10
Dayton Team Page
Dayton is coming off of a great season in which they won 28 games, went 14-2 in Atlantic 10 play and made an impressive run to the Elite Eight. Following a November 22nd loss to Iowa last season, the Flyers went on a roll and the only team they lost to since then was George Washington, twice in the regular season and once in the A-10 Tournament Final. That was until they ran into Connecticut in the Elite Eight. But as a seven seed, the Flyers knocked off Iowa State, Kentucky and Louisville to reach the Elite Eight.
2014-15 Record: 28-7, 14-2
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Jim Jabir
Coach Record: 238-140 at Dayton, 458-363 overall
Strengths:
A run like that happening again seems improbable, but Coach Jim Jabir has built a solid program that can handle some major losses. Amber Deane, Jenna Burdette and Kelley Austria may not be superstars yet, but they are talented players who are ready to take a big step up in production. Deane and Austria will be the senior leaders of the squad. Deane was mostly used as an offensive spark off of the bench last season, but she still averaged 10.5 points, 2.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Austria, at 6-0, is the bigger guard who can knock down three-pointers or attack the basket. She averaged nearly ten points per game in 2014-2015 and will be asked to score more this season. She will also need to be tougher on the glass. Burdette had a great freshman campaign, averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 assists. She is a capable scorer, but just did not need to score last season. She will need to score more now.
Weaknesses:
And that is because Andrea Hoover and Ally Malott are gone. Those two were the heart and soul of the program. Hoover averaged 17.4 points, 3.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds during her senior season and Malott added 15.5 points and 7.8 rebounds. They deserve nearly all of the credit for Dayton’s success over the last couple of years and it is easy to look at Dayton without those two and think they are an average A-10 program. However, that success has helped in recruiting and Coach Jabir has talent to work with, albeit mostly unproven talent.
Final Projection:
At 6-5 and 6-4, respectively, Saicha Grant-Allen and Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova give Dayton plenty of size in the frontcourt. Grant-Allen is the more polished interior scorer, while Cornelie-Sigmundova makes her biggest impact on the defensive end. Those two could both start this year, but ideally they would not be on the floor together too often. Dayton will want one of them on the floor at all times to cover the five spot and asking for each to play 25 to 30 minutes per game is probably asking too much. Regardless, the Flyers have size in the post, but experienced depth is a concern. Some of the freshmen will need to play a pretty big role in the frontcourt unless Coach Jabir wants to put out a smaller lineup.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Jenna Burdette, Sophomore, Guard, 5.9 points per game
Amber Deane, Senior, Guard, 10.5 points per game
Kelley Austria, Senior, Guard, 9.9 points per game
Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova, Senior, Center, 5.8 points per game
Saicha Grant-Allen, Junior, Center, 6.3 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.5 (13th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.6 (210, 12)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (18, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.6 (32, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.3 (85, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.5 (5, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.5 (27, 1)
Rebound Margin: 4.3 (54, 3)
Assists Per Game: 14.0 (102, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.9 (159, 9)
See All Top 44 Women’s Basketball Previews
