Wilmington, NC (Dec. 30, 2000) -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarch basketball team captured its first Colonial Athletic Association victory with a solid 74-59 win at Trask Coliseum on the campus of UNC-Wilmington Saturday evening. With the win, Old Dominion improves to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in the CAA while UNC-Wilmington drops to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in the CAA.
The Lady Monarchs used a solid rebounding effort to capture their 103rd consecutive conference game. Old Dominion collected 50 rebounds to 20 by the Seahawks en route to victory. Sophomore forward Kim Giddens (Painter, Va.) led the way with a double double of 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Lady Monarchs scored the first 10 points of the contest, spearheaded by four points from both Giddens and senior swing player Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali). Old Dominion held UNC-Wilmington without a field goal for just under the first six minutes of play.
Over a four-minute span in the first half, Old Dominion ballooned its lead to 16, the largest of the half. Sophomore guard Okeisha Howard (Virginia Beach, Va.) tossed in nine points in that Old Dominion run while junior forward Sharlenia Charles (Brooklyn, NY) added a three-point play.
UNC-Wilmington, however, hung around and cut the halftime lead to 10. Behind 11 points from Shameka Montgomery, Rachael Friesen-Norwood, and Jennifer Kapper, the Seahawks rallied to within eight points, but could get no closer.
Howard led all scorers with a game-high 21 points t go with four steals while Sharron Francis (West Lanham Hills, Md.) added 16 points to the winning effort. Giddens collected her first double double of the season with the dozen points and dozen boards.
Old Dominion returns to the Fielhouse Tuesday, January 2 in a 7:35 pm contest against American.