Dec. 14, 2001
NORFOLK, VA -- Senior Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali) recorded her second consecutive double-double effort with 14 points and 17 rebounds as 24th ranked Old Dominion defeated the BIG EAST's Seton Hall, 65-52, at the Fieldhouse this evening. The Lady Monarchs put together back-to-back victories for the first time this season as they improve to 4-3 on the year. The Pirates fall to 6-3.
The Lady Monarchs opened the game with a 6-0 lead, which included three points by Maiga at the line. Seton Hall however raced back taking an 8-1 run for an 8-7 advantage at 13:23. Old Dominion regained the lead on a lay-up by Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) just seconds later and upped its lead to as much as seven points, 24-17, with 7:18 left in the half. The Hall used another 8-1 run to retake the lead, but held it just momentarily as a jumper by Okeisha Howard (Va. Beach, VA) with 4:45 remaining sparked the Lady Monarchs to pull ahead by nine points, 36-27. The half closed with Old Dominion up 36-30.
The Pirates came out of the half on a tear as Seton Hall took a 12-3 run for a 42-41 lead at the 15:15 mark. The Lady Monarchs however would allow the Pirates to net just eight points the rest of the way. Old Dominion collected seven points at the free throw line along with three shots from downtown, including one from near NBA range by senior forward Tiffany Thompson (Clinton, MD), during the final 15 minutes of play.
Maiga, who recorded a new season-high with 17 rebounds, was also 7-of-11 in one of her best performances this year from the free throw line. Howard led the Lady Monarchs with 15 points, while Thompson netted 11 points and was 3-of-6 from three-point range. Seton Hall was led by Charlene Thomas, who came off the Pirate bench to register 15 points and Cecila Lindqvist with 14.
Old Dominion will return to action on the road on Thursday, December 20th against Denver at 9:00 p.m. (EST).
NOTE: Lady Monarch Alli Spence (Lafayette, CO) has taken a medical leave of absence from the Old Dominion women's basketball team. No timetable has been set for her return and she is listed as day-to-day.