Chloe Fletcher, Health and Sport Sciences, 2024
With the Women’s Atlantic 10 Tournament rapidly approaching, fans are on the edge of their seats waiting to watch the 41st Tournament play out. And with sports betting being newly legal in Ohio, knowing the statistics and predictions are more important than ever.
The Tournament is set to start on Wednesday, March 1, and run through Sunday, March 5. The games will be held at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware. Tickets prices start at $15 and can be purchased through the SeatGeek app.
This season we have two leading candidates to win the Conference Tournament. The top teams are the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen and the Rhode Island Rams. The UMass Minutewomen have had an outstanding season with a record of 23-5 and an A10 Conference record of 13-2. Their only Conference losses have been to Rhode Island and St. Louis. UMass is predicted to be this season’s A10 Championship team, and if they win it will be their second A 10 Tournament title in a row. UMass was the Women’s 2022 A10 Tournament champion, with a win of 62-56 over Dayton.
The Rhode Island Rams have had a similarly outstanding season. Their record is 22-5, and they share an A10 Conference record of 13-2. The Rams’s losses this season have been to Fordham and UMass. While the Rams have yet to win a Women’s A10 Tournament Championship, they are a strong contender this year being projected as the second seed.
The University of Dayton’s women’s basketball team has a current season record of 6-19, and an A10 Conference record of 5-9. The Flyers are currently ranked 12th in the A10, but we have potential to improve during the tournament. The team had some notable wins during our season, the most notable being their win against LaSalle, who is currently ranked 9th in the conference. If we keep that same energy during the Tournament, then we are sure to cause a few upsets. The Flyers are not far behind the competition in terms of points per game either. Our opponents have an average of 70 points per game, with the Flyers averaging about 66 points per game.
The Flyers have had three past Tournament victories, they were the Tournament champions in 2012, 2017, and 2020. In 2012 we won 56-53 against St. Bonaventure. In 2017 we won 70-56 against Duquesne. Finally, in 2020 we defeated VCU 52-48. The Flyers have also been the runner up multiple times. We were the runner up four times, with the most recent being last year against UMass.
Some notable players to watch out for are Bohanon, Perez, and Freeman. D. Bohanon currently has the highest number of points per game, 12.7, as well as steals. M. Perez has the season record for rebounds at 9.4, and S. Freeman has the season record for assists at 4.7. The current season team averages are 65.3 points, 41.4 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 5.4 steals, and 2.1 blocks.
The Flyers have a history of success in the A10 Tournament, and with our recent wins the team is hitting their stride just in time.