Final Score: Dayton 70, VCU 65
Location: Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 7-18 (4-9 A-10), Dayton 5-19 (4-9 A-10)
 
The Short Story: VCU, who trailed as many as 13 points in the second half, fought back to tie the game three times in the fourth quarter but fell just short of the comeback.
 
OPENING TIP: 

• Timaya Lewis-Eutsey scored a career-high 20 points. Lewis-Eutsey shot 8-of-17 and grabbed seven rebounds
• Janika Griffith-Wallace scored 15 points, including going 4-of-10 from three, and dished four assists
• Grace Huston scored nine points on 3-of-5 shoot from 3-point range
• The Rams shot 24-of-60 total and 9-of-22 from behind the arc
• Dayton shot 53.3 percent from 3-point range and 45.3 percent from the field. VCU shot 40.0 percent from the floor
• Dayton's Anyssa Jones led her team with 18 points. Mariah Perez had a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards
• The game was tied four times, once in the first quarter and three times in the fourth

 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 
 

• The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair and Elze Motekaiyte hit a jump shot as time expired to cut Dayton's lead to 19-15
• Dayton outscored the Rams 20-12 in the second quarter to push its lead to 39-27 at halftime
• The Black & Gold began to cut into the deficit in the third quarter, going on a 12-1 run to turn a 50-38 deficit into trailing jut 51-50 with 8:19 remaining in the fourt. After a Dayton layup, Griffith-Wallace tied the game at 53-53 on a 3-pointer with 6:47 left
• After Dayton regained a slight advantage, VCU had a chance to send try and send the game to overtime but Griffith-Wallace's 3-point attempt with six seconds left just missed

 
UP NEXT:
VCU travels to St. Bonaventure for a 4 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 15. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.