Tournament MVP Coker carries Lady Monarchs past Dukes
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NORFOLK, VA (March 10, 2001) -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs won their 10th consecutiveCAA crown this afternoon with a hard-fought 66-62 victory over the JamesMadison Dukes. Old Dominion moves on at 21-8 and will receive theautomatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. James Madison, 20-9, must now awaita possible at-large bid for the tournament.
James Madison raced out to an early 14-4 lead in the opening minutesof the game, as the Lady Monarchs had a hard time containing JMU guardAllyson Keener (Lafayette, CA). Keener made two three point shots early,and the Lady Monarchs had a difficult time working inside against theDukes' height. Old Dominion freshmen Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) and MyriahSpence (Espanola, NM) came off the bench to lift their team midway throughthe first. Coker put in six points and eight rebounds and Spence drained athree point basket to pull the Lady Monarchs to within one at 17-16, andOkeisha Howard (Va. Beach, VA) put in a basket at the 7:45 mark to put OldDominion in the lead for good.
Old Dominion seemed to put the Dukes away in the second half, racingout to as much as a 14 point lead, but James Madison fought back, thanks inpart to Shanna Price (Danville, VA) and Nadine Morgan (Stone Mt., GA). Thetwo combined for 23 of JMU's second-half points as the Dukes' made one morerun at the end. Morgan drained a three-pointer with .25 seconds left tocut the ODU lead to two, but Lady Monarch reserve Kim Giddens (Painter, VA)converted a layup and a free throw with under .20 seconds remaining tocement the lead. Okeisha Howard's free throw with seven seconds left icedthe game for Old Dominion, and the Lady Monarchs celebrated the CAAChampionship on their home court.
"They say that timing is everything, and we were fortunate to have thetournament atOld Dominion with all of the adversity we went through this year," said ODUhead coach Wendy Larry.
The Lady Monarchs were led by Tournament MVP Monique Coker, whotallied 12 points and 11 rebounds, and guard Okeisha Howard, who netted 13points.
Nadine Morgan led the Dukes with 21 points and forward Shanna Pricechipped in with 13.
"There should be three teams (ODU, JMU, GMU) from the CAA inpost-season play. It will be a disgrace if these teams are not in thepost-season," said Larry.
2001 CAA Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Jen Sobota, William & Mary
Jen Surlas, George Mason
Allyson Keener, James Madison
Nadine Morgan, James Madison
Tiffany Thompson, Old Dominion
MVP: Monique Coker, Old Dominion