Dayton Flyers
Overall Rank: #16
Conference Rank: #1 Atlantic 10
Dayton Team Page
Heading into the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Dayton had lost just one game and had an amazing 27-1 overall record and a perfect 14-0 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Flyers fell to Saint Joseph’s in the conference tournament and lost again in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky. With four starters returning and just one senior on the roster, winning a game in the NCAA Tournament last year was huge. This group is ready to win more than one.
2012-13 Record: 28-3, 14-0
2012-13 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Jim Jabir
Coach Record: 187-125 at Dayton, 407-348 overall
Strengths:
Coach Jim Jabir has a very potent and balanced offense to work with. If there is an offensive superstar on this team, it is Andrea Hoover. However, the opposition cannot afford to key in on Hoover too much or the other four players on the floor will make them pay. Hoover, a 5-9 junior, led the Flyers with 12.9 points per game in 2012-2013 and added 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. She also knocked down 54 three-pointers on the year and connected on 40.3 percent of those attempts. Amber Deane will join Hoover on the perimeter. As a freshman Deane nearly averaged double figures in the scoring department and is only getting better. Ally Malott and Cassie Sant are back to boost the frontcourt. Malott is ready to burst onto the national scene. The 6-4 junior is very strong on the glass and can score inside and out. Not many defenders can match her quickness and size. Sant, the lone senior on the roster, is a slightly more traditional post player, but she is not opposed to stepping out and trying her luck from beyond the arc either. However, she only went 6-of-35 from long range.
Weaknesses:
Dayton has the talent to run the table in the A-10 again, but there are a couple concerns. For one, nobody is going to look past the Flyers this year. The target is squarely on their back. How this team adjusts to their new expectations is going to be very important. And the lone starter lost is a big one. Dayton wants to fly up and down the floor most of the time and having an experienced point guard is a must. But Samantha Mackay is gone after dishing out 4.9 assists per contest and adding 10.5 points. She easily had the best assist-to-turnover margin on the team. Kelley Austria, a superb defender and a decent ball handler, and newcomers Celeste Edwards and Tiffany Johnson are going to have to play bigger roles. Hoover and Deane will be asked to spend more time with the ball in their hands too. If the up and down offense starts getting out of control, the turnovers will cost the Flyers a few games.
Final Projection:
The Flyers and Coach Jim Jabir brought in a solid recruiting class. Edwards will make a significant impact on the perimeter right away and Andrijana Cvitkovic is a versatile forward who can crash the glass very effectively. With 6-4 sophomore Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova adding a major shot blocking presence in the paint, Dayton has plenty of quality depth. The schedule is very tough this year and this may not be a team that has 27 wins heading into the NCAA Tournament, but they will be a scary team to run into in March.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Amber Deane, Sophomore, Guard, 9.9 points per game
Andrea Hoover, Junior, Guard, 12.9 points per game
Kelley Austria, Sophomore, Guard, 6.9 points per game
Ally Malott, Junior, Forward, 10.7 points per game
Cassie Sant, Senior, Center, 7.7 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 75.9 (6th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.1 (107, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (15, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.2 (52, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.7 (37, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.6 (27, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.1 (75, 5)
Rebound Margin: 6.1 (31, 2)
Assists Per Game: 16.8 (12, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.2 (127, 8)
Madness 2013 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#60 Andrijana Cvitkovic
#67 Celeste Edwards
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