Jan. 19, 2006

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DAYTON, Ohio - A season-high 27 points from Cara Wright and a career-best 24 from Jennifer Strong were not enough to overcome four Musketeers in double-figures as Dayton fell to Xavier 87-70 in Atlantic 10 Conference women's action on Thursday at UD Arena.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Dayton (12-5, 4-2 A-10) while Xavier improved to 12-4 overall and 3-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Wright posted her A-10 leading ninth double-double of the season and was just two points shy of her career-high set last season. The senior forward from West Chester, Ohio matched the school record for free throw accuracy in a game as she connected on 9-of-9 attempts. She is just the third Flyer to have perfect night from the line with at least four makes and the first since Stefanie Miller was 10-for-10 on Jan. 31, 2003.

Strong made 4-of-7 shots from behind the arc in 35 minutes of action including 15 points in the second half for the Flyers. She has now scored in double-figures during each of the last nine games.

Visiting Xavier was led by the Atlantic 10's leading scorer Tara Boothe who tallied 25 points on the night. She was followed by 18 from Suntana Granderson, 12 by Michele Miller and 10 from Miranda Green. XU also led UD 34-26 in points in the paint and points off turnovers 19-11.

The Musketeers started the game with a three-point basket from the top of the key by Boothe who scored the first 12 points of the game for Xavier. The combined efforts of the Flyer starters kept Dayton in the game with Wright leading the Flyers with six points on the way to a 13-12 UD advantage eight minutes into the game.

Bingham broke Boothe's streak at the 11:25 mark to ignite a 13-2 Musketeer run over the next 2:26. Xavier led by as many as 13 before Dayton chipped away to make it a 40-34 game at halftime.

Xavier put the game out of reach early in the second half with an 18-5 run out of the intermission. The Musketeers led by as many as 20 despite 15 points from Strong and 11 by Wright in the second half. The Flyer duo accounted for 26 of Dayton's 36 points after halftime.

Dayton will take a week-off before playing host to Rhode Island on Friday, Jan. 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at UD Arena in game that will be televised live on Time Warner TV (Channel 25 in the Dayton area).