Dec. 18, 2003
Box Score|QuotesNORFOLK, VA - Junior point guard Shareese Grant's (Va. Beach, VA) intense defensive effort and career-high 26 points led the Old Dominion women's basketball team to victory, defeating Georgia Tech 67-56, in the first game of Thursday's double header at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Old Dominion ups its mark to 6-3 and remains undefeated at home this season at 5-0. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fall to 6-2 as they had their four game win streak snapped.
Both the Yellow Jackets and the Lady Monarchs were evenly matched in the opening minutes as the game saw four ties and four lead changes. Georgia Tech leading scorer Fallon Stokes scored the Yellow Jackets first eight points of the game to take 8-6 lead with 16:23 left in the half. Two lay-ups by Kasha Terry once again put the Yellow Jackets ahead by four, 12-8, but it would be the last and largest lead Georgia Tech would have.
Grant followed by giving Old Dominion the spark it needed to take control of the game. The 5-10 point guard grabbed a steal from the Yellow Jacket offense for a breakaway lay-up and then drained one her two three-point attempts to give the Lady Monarchs a 15-12 edge and a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Over the next seven minutes, the Lady Monarchs went on a 10-4 run capped by a Myriah Spence (Espanola, NM) three-pointer for a double digit lead, 28-16, with 3:28 remaining until the half. Old Dominion closed out the half with a 31-22 edge. Defensively, the Lady Monarchs held Georgia Tech to just 22 first half point, their lowest first half scoring output thus far this season.
Although a 9-2 run by the Yellow Jackets to open the second half pulled Georgia Tech to within four, Old Dominion once again turned up its offense and saw its lead go back up to double digits. Terry's two-lays brought the score to 35-31 with 16:23, which prompted the Old Dominion bench to call a timeout. Following the break, the Lady Monarchs went on an 8-3 run with four different players getting in the mix for an 11-point edge 45-34 at the 13:20 mark.
Late in the second half, the Yellow Jackets cut into Old Dominion's lead taking a 10-point deficit and pulling to within four. Georgia Tech went to the line three times and connected on two lay-ups in a span of two and half minutes to trail just 54-50 with 4:31 remaining. However the Old Dominion intensity once again came through as they closed the game hitting seven of their eight attempts from the free throw line to seal the victory.
Of the defensive side of the ball, Old Dominion kept Georgia Tech's second leading scorer Alex Stewart to just one point. Stewart, the Yellow Jacket point guard, entered the game averaging 12.0 points and ended up fouling out of the game with 5:14 left. The Lady Monarchs held Georgia Tech to its lowest point total of the season with 56 points, the first time in eight games that the Yellow Jackets failed to score 60 or more points. Old Dominion scored 25 points off Georgia Tech turnovers helped mostly in part to five offensive charges taken by Grant. Conversly, the Lady Monarchs committed just 12 turnovers, tying its season low.
Stokes once again led the Yellow Jackets pouring in 20 points to go along with her team-high eight rebounds. Terry was the other Georgia Tech player in double figures with 14 points. She also added in seven boards. Despite netting just one point, Stewart also handed out six assists.
Grant led all scorers with her career-high 26 points. Her previous high was 25 in the 2003 CAA Championship game versus Delaware after which she was named the tournament's most valuable player. The Virginia Beach native went 9-of-14 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and sunk all six of her free throw attempts.
Senior forward Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) added another double-double to her resume with 11 points and 11 boards. It was Coker's sixth double-double of the year and her second straight this week. Senior guard Max Nhassengo (Maputo, Mozambique) added in 17 in the victory.
The Lady Monarchs return to action after the holidays as they embark on a four-game road trip which begins on December 28th in Piscataway, NJ against annual rival Rutgers.