A battle for first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference lived up to its billing in a back-and-forth affair Saturday, Feb. 11, at UD Arena.

After a frantic final four minutes, Saint Bonaventure University senior forward Megan Van Tatenhove made a layup with 22 seconds left, propelling the Bonnies to a 56-55 win over the University of Dayton.

SBU, ranked 25th in the Associated Press top 25 poll, never led by more than a point in improving to 24-2 overall and 11-0 in the A-10 while snapping Dayton's six-game winning streak. The Bonnies improved to 11-0 on the road this season, the best road record in the nation.

Sophomore center Cassie Sant led Dayton with 12 points and senior forward Justine Raterman had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

"You have to give a lot of credit to Saint Bonaventure," head coach Jim Jabir said. "They are 24-2 for a reason. ... Defensively, I think we did what we're supposed to do. We just couldn't buy buckets at the end and if you can't score, it's hard to win."

Dayton (16-6, 8-2 A-10) had one final possession with 2.6 seconds remaining, and took the ball out of bounds from underneath St. Bonaventure's basket. A three-point shot by Raterman came up short, securing the win for SBU.

"We were looking for Andrea [Hoover, freshman guard] off the double screen and Justine was the second look," senior guard Elle Queen said. "I think we got a pretty good look at it."

Dayton rushed out to an early 19-4 advantage, which would be its largest lead of the game. UD held SBU without a field goal over the opening 7:24 of the game.

SBU senior guard Jessica Jenkins, the NCAA's active career leader in three-point field goals and the team's leading scorer, was held without a point in the first half by UD guards Hoover and Queen. Jenkins finished the game with three points on 1-for-11 shooting.

"It was definitely a team effort," said Queen about Dayton's defense on Jenkins. "They set a lot of screens for her and our game plan was just to deny her the ball. I think for the most part we did a good job."

Without Jenkins' scoring, Saint Bonaventure relied on its post game and defense to come back against UD.

Van Tatenhove, a preseason first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection, scored 17 points to lead SBU. Sophomore forward teammate Doris Ortega added 12 points.

"They are extremely physical and good post players," said Sant about Van Tatenhove and Ortega. "We just tried to stop them as best as we could but it's hard. They are very solid post players and played a great game."

The Flyers were held to 29 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, settling for more jump shots because of SBU's post defense.

Jabir said he was pleased overall with his team's play and how the Flyers matched up against the league's top team.

"I don't know if they're a lot better than us," he said. "They got a lot of chemistry and understand how to play together. ... I like our team a lot. I think we're a really good team. I think we played a really good team down the stretch."

Dayton wore special all-pink uniforms for the game on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Dayton next travels to face the University of La Salle at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Philadelphia.