RICHMOND, Va. (Mar. 9)(AP) - Hamchetou Maiga scored 20 points and No. 14 Old Dominion made its 100th consecutive victory against Colonial Athletic Association competition one of its closest with a 66-61 victory in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament March 9.
The victory was Old Dominion's narrowest in CAA play since it beat East Carolina 83-79 on Jan. 9. The Lady Monarchs have won 149 of 150 in the league and would break Texas' national record by winning the tournament for a ninth consecutive time.
Old Dominion (25-4) saw an 11-point lead cut to 57-54 with 2:15 to play and missed a chance to pad its lead when Kim Giddens missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:36 left. The Patriots (10-19) failed to score, though, and Alli Spence gave the Lady Monarchs some breathing room by hitting two free throws with 1:17 left.
Giddens added 17 points and Natalie Diaz 10 for the Lady Monarchs, who were without scoring and rebounding leader Lucienne Berthieu for the sixth consecutive game. Berthieu has a sprained right shoulder and is questionable for the tournament.
Trish Halpin led the Patriots with 17 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range, and Chrissy Todd had 15 and 10 rebounds.