Jan. 24, 2002
WILMINGTON, NC - Senior forward Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali) scored 11 points,grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots to power No. 25 Old Dominion overUNC Wilmington, 63-39, in a Colonial Athletic Association game Thursday nightat Trask Coliseum. The Lady Monarchs improve to 12-5 overall, 9-0 in theCAA, and won their 24th straight over the Seahawks. UNCW is now 9-8 overall and3-5 in the CAA.
Junior Kim Giddens (Painter, Va.) added a game high 14 points and CAA pre-season Player-of the Year Lucienne Berthieu chipped in with 13 points. Sharron Francis (W.Lanham Hills, Md.) added sevenpoints and seven assists. Leading the way for UNC Wilmington was Shameka Montgomery with 12 points.
ODU used its stifling defense to build a 36-13 halftime lead and never lookedback. The Lady Monarchs blocked 12 shots, forced 20 turnovers and held the Seahawksto 26.4 shooting (14-53) from the floor. The Lady Monarchs shot .444 (24-54).
After Montgomery scored the first basket of the game to give the Seahawksa 2-0 lead, ODU took the lead for good, 3-2 on a Lucienne Berthieu free throw at the17:03 mark. The Lady Monarchs carved out a 9-4 advantage and then went on a 19-4run to break the game open. A layup by Shareese Grant (Va.Beach, Va.)pushed the margin to 28-10with 2:23 left in the half.
UNCW managed to cut the deficit to 17, 45-28 with 9:11 left, but ODU scored12 of the next 14 points to end the rally. Maiga's layup with 5:50 left capped the runand staked the Lady Monarchs to a 57-30 bulge. The Lady Monarchs largest lead was 28, 62-34.
The Lady Monarchs return to action on Sunday when they travel to Harrisonburg, Va.to take on James Madison in a 2 p.m. contest. The Dukes were the last CAA team to beatthe Lady Monarchs.