March 13, 2003
NORFOLK, Va. - Top-seeded Old Dominion University took command early in coasting to an 88-46 victory over eighth-seeded Hofstra University in the quarterfinals of the 2003 ALLTEL Colonial Athletic Association Women's Basketball Championship at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The Lady Monarchs advance to the semifinals for the 12th straight year and will face fourth seeded James Madison tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
Junior guard Max Nhassengo (Maputo, Mozambique) scored 18 points and also registered six rebounds and five assists to lead four Lady Monarchs in double-figures. Senior point guard Okeisha Howard (Va. Beach, VA) scored 17, junior forward Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) registered 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and freshman center Corrina Turner (Miami, FL) barely missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ten different players scored for Old Dominion, who improved to 19-10 overall.
Hofstra, who closed out the 2002-03 campaign 8-21, was led by junior guard Urszula Smolarek, who scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the three-point arch. She had never made more than one three-pointer in a game previously. Senior guard Jen Brickey scored 11 points to finish her Pride career ranked second all-time with 1,726 points.
Old Dominion posted impressive shooting numbers by compiling a 61.1 percent field goal percentage (33-54). The Lady Monarchs hit 4-of-7 three-pointers and dominated the boards, holding a 48-22 rebounding advantage. It was the eighth time in the last nine games they have claimed a double-digit rebounding edge on their opponent. ODU also had 24 assists compared to just nine for Hofstra.
The Lady Monarchs took command of the matchup from the start, jumping out to leads of 11-3 and 17-8. After back-to-back Agugua lay-ups cut the deficit to 17-12 after the opening 8:21, Old Dominion went on a 16-0 charge over the next 4:41 to build a convincing 33-12 advantage. After holding a 41-21 halftime lead, ODU went on to outscore Hofstra 47-25 in the second half in picking up the 88-46 win, their largest margin of victory this season.
Old Dominion advances to Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal game against fourth-seeded James Madison. The two teams last met in postseason play in the 2001 championship with ODU pulling out a 66-62 victory. Each team won on its home court to split the series this season.