Dec. 29, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Cara Wright did not have a double-double on Thursday evening, but she did tally 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Dayton to a 68-59 victory over Samford to capture the Tulane Women's Basketball Invitational Championship at Fogelman Arena.

Game Stats

Wright, who had 23 points and 15 rebounds in Dayton's first round victory over Toledo, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Joining her on the All-Tournament team were Jennifer Sands (Tulane), Danielle Bishop (Toledo), Cora Beth Smith (Samford), Alex Munday (Samford) and Terri Ramsey (Dayton).

After trailing for much of the game, Samford (8-2) took the lead at 51-50 on a pair of Taryn Towns free throws with 6:47 to go. After Wright answered with a layup for Dayton (8-3), Samford swung back with a Veronica Pike layup to go back on top, 53-52.

However, Wright and Dayton took charge down the stretch. Nine unanswered points for the Flyers included five from Wright, including a nifty reverse scoop layup at the 2:53 mark which made it 61-53.

Samford tried to battle back with the long ball as Towns and Munday each hit from downtown, but Dayton hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:15 while the Bulldogs missed their final three three-pointers.

In addition to Wright's big game for Dayton, Brittany Holterman tallied 15 points and nine rebounds, Kiki Lund scored 12 and Terri Ramsey chipped in with 10 points with six assists. Samford was led by Munday's 17 points while Chelsee Insell had 11 points.