Jan. 4, 2002
NORFOLK, VA -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team had five players score in double-figures tonight as they cruised to an easy 108-46 victory over CAA rival Virginia Commonwealth. The twenty-fourth ranked Lady Monarchs improve to 7-4, 4-0 CAA while VCU falls to 3-9, 0-3 CAA.
Old Dominion raced out to an early 20-4 lead as seniors Sharron Francis (W. Lanham Hills, MD) and Tiffany Thompson (Clinton, MD) combined to nail four straight treys within a three minute span. It would get no easier for the Rams throughout the first half, Old Dominion went into the locker room with a hefty 60-20 lead.
The Lady Monarchs continued to dominate throughout the second half as every player in uniform scored. Reserves Shareese Grant (Va. Beach, VA), Kim Giddens (Painter, VA), Myriah Spence (Espanola, NM) and Marianthi Koukouvinou (Stockholm, Sweden) made impressive showings, ensuring that there would be no come-back from VCU. Grant finished with a game and career-high 22 points while Giddens, Koukouvinou and Spence combined for 28 points.
Tonight was the second time in as many games that Old Dominion has eclipsed the 100 point mark. The last time the Lady Monarchs strung together back-to-back 100 point games was back in 1997, the same season Old Dominion reached the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Monarchs defeated George Mason 102-46 to close the regular season and handed William and Mary 101-35 in the CAA Tournament.
Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali) scored 14 and hauled in seven rebounds for ODU. She also tallied a career-high nine assists, just one dish short of a possible third double-double of the season. Reigning CAA player of the week Lucienne Berthieu (Rennes, France) added 12 with six boards. VCU was paced by guard Shavohn McKinnon, who scored eight points in the loss.
Old Dominion outshot VCU .614 to .296 and held a 48-23 edge in rebounds.
The Lady Monarchs will be on the road for their next game, January 8th at second ranked Tennessee.