March 2, 2003
NORFOLK, VA -- Senior guard Okeisha Howard (Va. Beach, VA) had her fifth 20 + scoring effort of the season with 21 points to lead the Old Dominion's women's basketball team to a 83-44 victory over William and Mary in the Lady Monarchs' regular season finale at "The Ted."
The Lady Monarch improve to 16-10 on the season and 13-3 in CAA play. William & Mary falls to 7-18 overall and 3-13 in the conference.
Howard's 21 points also moved her into the 13th position on the ODU all-time scoring leaders past former teammate and current Sacrament Monarch Hamchetou "Tanty" Maiga (1998-2002). She currently has 1,486 points and needs seven more points to move into the 12th slot past Donna Harrington (1984-88). Howard also dished out five assists and needs nine more to enter the top 10 on the all-time assists leaders list at Old Dominion.
In all, five Lady Monarchs reached double digits. Redshirt freshman Corrina Turner (Miami, FL) reached double figure for the second straight game going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line for 12 points. Turner also collected eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Shareese Grant (Va. Beach, VA) also added 12 and junior guard Max Nhassengo (Maputo, Mozambique) contributed 11 points. Sophomore Paula Muxiri (Luanda, Angola) had her first double digit scoring effort of the year coming off the bench for 10 points.
For the Tribe, Jen Sobota was the only player in double figures with 17 points. Dominique Lewis scored seven, while the remaining William & Mary players did not score more than four points apiece.
The Lady Monarchs took a 40-24 lead at the half. Old Dominion held William & Mary without a field goal for the opening 8:45 of the half as they raced out to a 16-5 lead. All five points by the Tribe came from free throws. William & Mary shot 21.9 percent from the floor in the first half, connecting on only seven shots. Nine of the Tribe's first-half points came from the line where they shot 9-of-10.
Two Lady Monarchs reached double digits by the intermission. Turner had 10, while Howard had a team-leading 14 points at the end of one half of play. Howard, who went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe on the afternoon, connected on two free throws, giving Old Dominion a 20-point lead, 30-10, with 6:16 remaining in the half.
Old Dominion continued to dominate in the second half outscoring William & Mary 43-20. A Jen Sobota three-pointer pulled the Tribe within 13, 42-29, with 17:51 remaining, but that would be as close as William & Mary would get the rest of the afternoon. The Tribe hit only five field goals in the second half, shooting 20 percent.
The Lady Monarchs shot 52.6 percent from the floor (30-for-57) for the game and have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in four of their last five contests. William & Mary finished the game 12-of-57 from the field, shooting 21.1 percent.
Old Dominion outrebounded the Tribe, 49-26. The Lady Monarchs have outrebounded their opponent by 20 or more in the last two contests. Sophomore Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) led Old Dominion with eight boards, while Kia Butts hauled in seven rebounds to lead the Tribe.
The Lady Monarchs close out the 2002-03 regular season this week on the road. Old Dominion travels to first place UNC-Wilmington on Thursday and closes out the regular season in Williamsburg on Sunday against William & Mary.