“That was always something in the back of our head coming into this game,” Whalen said in the postgame press conference. “We just used it as more motivation, not that you really need much when you are out on the floor. It was something that they took away from us, our goal to be undefeated (in conference play). A lot of learning opportunities came from that game, and we used it to fuel us.”
The Flyers (24-6) will play No. 3 seed Massachusetts (25-6) in the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will air on ESPN2.
UMass beat No. 7 seed Saint Joseph’s 76-68. Dayton won 69-60 at UMass on Jan. 19.
Dayton will seek its first A-10 tournament title since 2020 and its third in Green’s six seasons. UMass reached the A-10 final last season, losing 81-69 to VCU.
Against VCU, Dayton scored the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
VCU cut Dayton’s lead to six in the third quarter, but Dayton answered with a 7-0 run. The Rams again got as close as six points in the third quarter only to have Araion Bradshaw push Dayton’s lead to nine points with a 3-point play.
Whalen made 5 of 7 3-pointers, and Dayton shot 41.2% (7 of 17). Jenna Giacone scored eight points. Tenin Magassa had nine rebounds.
“That was a great basketball game,” Green said. “We’ve gone back and forth for multiple years. I have a ton of respect for (VCU coach) Beth (O’Boyle) and their players. This team has shown that it’s always ready to bounce back. I know we would be ready to go and ready to come take care of business and do what we do. We won all three of our battles and when we do that, we are in position to win.”
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