Archdeacon: ‘Never gets old’ — Dayton women win 5th A-10 title in last six years

As this was happening, someone brought out a tall, blue stepladder and set it up under the basket at the south end of the court. Soon the players and coaches were crawling up, one by one, to snip a net cord souvenir.

“That never gets old,” grinned sixth-year senior Erin Whalen as she awaited her turn.

She motioned up at the crowd that still filled much of the lower bowl of the arena – among the fans were her mom and dad and grown brother and sister, one wearing a red wig and the other a blue one – and she beamed:

“This is such a surreal moment that we’re able to be here with our fans and our families again.”

Teammate Jenna Giacone, another sixth-year player, as is point guard Araion Bradshaw – “super seniors” Green has called the trio – agreed with Whalen on the lively crowd of 3,716:

“This is the last time I’ll be playing in UD Arena and it was one of the best. This was a big game, a big moment and we had an amazing crowd. One of the best in my whole career here. It was just a great atmosphere.”

And it just kept getting better.

After the nets were down, UD held its Senior Day festivities for the three super seniors and its two four-year seniors, Kyla Whitehead and Amari Davidson.

Each was brought onto the court with their families and the big video boards overhead beamed congratulations from each of their teammates as the crowd applauded in appreciation.

All this had been stolen last year by COVID-19, which prevented crowds from coming to the games.

And the year before – when the Flyers won the A-10 Tournament here at UD Arena – the NCAA Tournament bid they earned was denied as the pandemic was beginning its assault on college basketball and the rest of society. The tournament was cancelled and the season came to an abrupt end.

The only good thing that came from all this was the NCAA giving players an extra year of eligibility – hence the six-year players.

And that’s why Saturday was so delightful for the 23-4 Flyers.

This year the path seems cleared from outside obstacles and the players are again allowed to dream.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Bradshaw said. “This is why I came back. I know we’ve got more championships to come. This is just the first one.”

And it didn’t start to come into true focus until the third quarter Saturday.

Rhode Island was a formidable foe – the Rams came into the game 22-4, though one loss was to UD by 10 points 10 days ago at home – and Saturday’s game was knotted 28-28 at the half.

After halftime urgings by Green to be more aggressive and get the ball into the paint, the Flyers came out like a different team.

“We played Dayton basketball,” Bradshaw said.

They outscored Rhode Island 21-5 in the third period and were in control of the game from then on.

Special seniors

Giacone, who tied her career record with five three pointers, finished with a game-high 21 points. Whalen, who struggled from long distance, usually her forte, found other ways to score and ended up with 13 points. In the process she topped the 1,000 career point mark at UD.

Counting the two seasons she played at Vanderbilt before transferring here, she has scored 1,501 points in her college career.

Bradshaw started her career at South Carolina and won the NCAA title with the Gamecocks as a freshman.

But her career really has been defined by what she’s done at UD, where she has started 108 of 109 games, was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year last year and made an even bigger splash off the court because of her social conscious and activism.

Last season she was named the A-10′s Co-Woman of the Year.

“This whole senior class is really special to me,” Green said as she stood on the court after the game.

“They’ve just been invested in all aspects of our program – on the court and off.”

Giacone -- who was named the A-10′s Most Improved Player last year and won first team all-conference honors -- just wrote a children’s book.

Whitehead has grabbed 631 rebounds and scored 637 points in her career – Saturday she had eight and eight – but she sometimes goes unnoticed.

In Green’s book, she stands the tallest: “She’s the heart and soul of our team.”

When Whitehead walked out on the court to get her framed jersey for Senior Day, many in her large contingent of family members wore T-shirts that proclaimed: “Unsung Whitehead.”

‘We’ll be sisters for life’

The most inspirational of the five players honored may be Davidson, a 6-foot-2 forward from Avon, who has played in just 23 games in her UD career.

After a stellar prep career, her college effort was detoured by a pair of hip surgeries – similar to those former Flyers player Ryan Mikesell had a few years ago – and a hamstring injury that sidelined her six months.

“She’s the hardest worker and the most positive kid we have,” Green said. “She’s just an unbelievable person. You can impact a team without ever stepping on the floor and that’s what she does.”

You saw it Saturday.

When the players on the court would return to the huddle, she was always the first player to greet them.

“My teammates have been so great to be around,” she said. “I couldn’t have done anything without them. They encouraged me through all my surgeries, so it’s nice to be able to encourage them through all their accomplishments.

“We all just love each other.”

Her teammates agreed.

“This is why I came back,” Whalen said. “We’ll be sisters for life.”