Giacone scores career high 28 and helps Dayton put away Toledo

“Having a kid like Jenna and all our upperclassmen, all of our seniors, they know what they want to do,” Green said. “They know why they came back, those sixth-year seniors. They’re on a mission, and you saw that today. It was pretty fun to watch when Jenna was on the mission, and hopefully we can continue to ride her.”

Giacone, one of three sixth-year seniors on the roster, made 10 of 18 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, to score a career-high 28 points. Her previous career high was 20 points.

Dayton led the entire game after starting the game with a 10-0 run and stretched its advantage to as many as 18 points in the second quarter. It took a 49-38 lead into the fourth quarter but watched the lead dwindle to six points with 5:30 to play. That’s when Giacone, who’s averaging a team-best 19.7 points per game, took over.

“It was huge,” Giacone said. We wanted to put them away and make the fourth quarter ours. I just knew that if I had the opportunity, if I had the driving lane, I was going to take it and finish strong, so I did.”

Dayton (2-1) bounced back from a 70-56 loss at home to Duke on Friday. It plays nine of its next 10 games on the road, playing only one game at UD Arena (Nov. 30 against Florida A&M) between now and Jan. 4, when it plays its Atlantic 10 Conference home opener against St. Bonaventure.

Erin Whalen, who had 12 points, was the only other player to score in double figures against Toledo (3-1). She also led the team with 12 rebounds. Tenin Magassa had five blocked shots. Araion Bradshaw tallied six assists. Kyla Whitehead had nine points and seven rebounds.

Dayton had a 48-30 rebounding advantage and outscored Toledo 12-4 in second chance points thanks to 17 offensive rebounds.

“I’m really happy with how we responded and bounced back in the areas that we were really focused in on,” Green said, “and No. 1 one was our start, our rebounding and just our awareness defensively of not giving up open shots. We did have some mental lapses in that Duke game. Our start was great. Also a key emphasis for us was coming out and dictating with our defense, and I thought we did an unbelievable job of really locking them up in that first quarter. Now we’ve got to just continue to improve and be consistent throughout 40 minutes.”

Recruiting news: Dayton announced the signing of two 2022 recruits on Tuesday: Saija Cleveland, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward from Langham Creek High School in Houston Texas; and Kam’Ren Rhodes, a 5-5 guard from Arizona Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz.

Cleveland, who committed to Dayton in July, has averaged 10.6 points in 100 games in her high school career.

“Saija is a big wing that can play multiple positions,” Green said in a press release. “She is a lefty who can handle the ball as well as score it. We love the versatility that she brings to the court and she will be a great addition to our program. I know her best basketball is ahead of her and we cannot wait to have her on campus to get to work.”

Rhodes, who committed to Dayton in February, helped lead her team to a state championship in 2020.

“Kam is a point guard that knows how to run a team and also has the ability to score the basketball,” Green said. “She has a high basketball IQ and understands how to play the game the right way. She is going to be a great addition to our program and we cannot wait to have her in a Dayton uniform.”