Dayton 68, Xavier 58

[cinskyline]

Well, that was disappointing. I was in attendance.

The game was about even with 7:00 left until a barrage of 3's by UD did us in.

The guards struggled. Again. I can only assume that Jerri is still hurt because she is totally ineffective out there. Special really needs to work on her shot after the season. It looks awful when she shoots.

You're only as good as your guards, and ours aren't very good. Hopefully that'll change next year. It doesn't matter what Amber and Ta'Shia do as long as the guards are ineffective.

In the meantime, this should stop the NCAA talk. We're WNIT bound, barring a miracle in the A-10 Tournament.

I'm still not sure how we beat Georgia.

[xu_fan]

I wouldn't be that negative. It was very big that we lost but I think if we finish strong, meaning finals or semi-finals we should be in. Look back to I think it was Tara Boothes freshman year I believe we lost nine or ten and still got in the tournament. I'm telling you it all depends on the year around college b-ball and this year we have the edge on a lot of teams. Still though there is a lot of work to do.

I'm not just disappointed that we lost, but the game was just ugly. I saw so LITTLE EMOTION AND EFFORT!!!!! I was getting furious!!!

[XU Dozer]

I'll take the blame for this one guys. I have been very lucky for the Men's team this year, 5-0 in games I attend. However, that has not translated to the Lady Muskies. They are 0-2 in games I attend (both the ud games). So in the hopes that I can undo what I've mistakenly done. I will not be attending any more women's games this year. Hopefully this will undo the bad juju I have done.

[cinskyline]

I wouldn't be that negative. It was very big that we lost but I think if we finish strong, meaning finals or semi-finals we should be in. Look back to I think it was Tara Boothes freshman year I believe we lost nine or ten and still got in the tournament. I'm telling you it all depends on the year around college b-ball and this year we have the edge on a lot of teams. Still though there is a lot of work to do.

I'm not just disappointed that we lost, but the game was just ugly. I saw so LITTLE EMOTION AND EFFORT!!!!! I was getting furious!!!

Normally, I wouldn't be so negative, but X has 2 BIG problems now:

1. Temple won tonight, so they move ahead of us in the standings, and are now in line for a possible at-large.

2. The RPI goes down again.

Realistically, the party's over, barring winning the A-10 Tournament.

[joebba]

Darn it. :(

[BENWAR]

Well, that was disappointing. I was in attendance.

The game was about even with 7:00 left until a barrage of 3's by UD did us in.

The guards struggled. Again. I can only assume that Jerri is still hurt because she is totally ineffective out there. Special really needs to work on her shot after the season. It looks awful when she shoots.

You're only as good as your guards, and ours aren't very good. Hopefully that'll change next year. It doesn't matter what Amber and Ta'Shia do as long as the guards are ineffective.

In the meantime, this should stop the NCAA talk. We're WNIT bound, barring a miracle in the A-10 Tournament.

I'm still not sure how we beat Georgia.

How am I going to sleep tonight!! Yawn...........

[X-band '01]

Temple was the big winner tonight - their road to winning the A-10 got a LOT easier tonight. They own the tiebreaker over GW, and they wouldn't have to face GW OR Xavier until the A-10 Championship now.

Barring a Temple loss on Saturday, Xavier is all but locked into the #3 slot now for the A-10 Tournament.

As for the game itself, Xavier paid the price for not having any outside shooters to keep UD from packing it in. Given Lund's barrage of 3s late in tthe game, I knew Xavier was sunk at that point. UD's 5 seniors had a sense of urgency coming into tonight; Xavier had no sense of urgency and no hunger tonight.

[X-band '01]

The really bad news - Xavier would currently draw St. Joe's in the quarters at the Fieldhouse. Xavier wins out and they at worst would have been looking at a #2 seed going into tonight. Now Xavier has to win at St. Bonnie and hope UMass somehow beats Temple on the road on Saturday to get #2 back.

[Bigbluebrotha]

Hello all. I think you're all right on with your comments. I listened in and reluctantly write that this is one of those times where XU was outplayed. I don't think that often, but I have to write that Dayton did a nice job. Man, that hurt.

UD's bench isn't that effective statistically, obviously Loond had a nice night, but the Dayton reserves give the team enough to bother a team such as our Muskies that plays about seven people. It's like 10 on seven and the three additional on Dayton's side are good enough to spell the starters for several minutes at a time and contribute a little offensively. Also, UD converted 13 points off turnovers and, as our announcer Schmaltz said, XU left six points at the foul line.

Sounded as if Tashia was well covered, so, in light of that, it's somewhat amazing she scored 16 points. Also congrats to her on the new freshman rebounding record. Started with 302, ended with 311, passing Amber's record by eight. Excellent work and way to battle.

Don't want to overlook Amber's contributions either, 12th double double of the season and 23rd of the career. Also, tough to get shots off in heavy traffic.

April Phillips had a third straight solid outing. Tudy wasn't asked to shoot much but did have four assists.

Also interesting, our ladies are 6-6 when two players hit double figures in scoring and 9-0 when three players get to double figures. That's a delicate equation.

Don't know that it would've helped much combating Loond's barrage. By the way, Loond's career record is seven 3s - weird that she did absolutely nothing in the first game.

I also think this game video will be a popular selection for all the A-10 coaches this week and next.

Now the rah, rah section of this message:

Chins up, folks!

Our ladies need a three-game Redemption Streak to get into the big show and they've already won at least three straight four times this season.

Either way, we'll see what type of heart this team possesses.

Yours in NCAA Tournament optimism -
The Big Blue Brotha!

[spongebob]

"Yours in NCAA Tournament optimism"

I'm always in that corner. Man, I wondered what happened. I had to jettision from the computer when it was 48-48 with 7 mins to go. Get back in a few and its 63-53. Yes, they took a hit. Hopefully, they'll punch back, starting this weekend. If the A-10 road goes thru ST. J's and Temple, so be it. They did it last year, they can do it again.

[Bigbluebrotha]

Amen Sponge, Amen!

[HomerCecil]

From Dayton's coach:

"I think we were a better team than them tonight and I think that we played harder," UD Head Coach Jim Jabir said.

I hope our players remember that quote the next time we play Dayton.

[Bigbluebrotha]

I'm not comfortable doing so, but I agree with him. Nevertheless, it is good bulletin board material.

Sometimes it doesn't seem Xavier is emotionally invested in this whole deal. We're about to find out if that thought has any validity.

[cinskyline]

From Dayton's coach:

"I think we were a better team than them tonight and I think that we played harder," UD Head Coach Jim Jabir said.

I hope our players remember that quote the next time we play Dayton.

Well, Dayton was obviously the better team last night. They won the game. They were dynamite in the final 5:00, while we faded into oblivion.

I'm not sure I agree that they played harder. Dayton's guards simply made shots where ours didn't. From where I was sitting, there was plenty of effort and intensity by Amber and Ta'Shia. They were just double and triple teamed every time they got the ball, leading to either a bad shot or a turnover. Amber was just exasperated at the end of the game. The guards are not putting them in a position to succeed. I don't know why opposing teams bother to defend our guards. They can't make anything and they'll lose the ball trying to get it to Ta'Shia or Amber. Teams that have bad guard play are doomed to failure as was shown last night. I'm not sure what McGuff can do to fix this either.

[X-band '01]

I'd say they're better than us this year, period. They did beat Temple this year and came within an eyelash of winning at GW. Their inability to beat the middle of the road A-10 teams will be the reason they won't get an at-large NCAA bid, though.