Feb. 22, 2004
NORFOLK, VA -- The Lady Monarchs clinched the top seed at the upcoming 2004 CAA Women's Basketball Tournament as they downed Virginia Commonwealth, 95-72, in front of 4,841 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon, the 12th time the Lady Monarchs have either claimed or tied the conference's top spot.
Old Dominion improved to 19-6 overall and 14-1 in the CAA as they won its 12th straight home game. Virginia Commonwealth, who entered the game winners in six of their last seven outings, fell to 11-12 overall and 8-6 in the league.
The Lady Monarchs saw two of its players reach the 20 + point mark. Senior guard Max Nhassengo (Maputo, Mozambique) netted 22 points for the second straight game to once again led all Old Dominion scorers. Senior Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) poured in 20 points.
Additionally, Old Dominion had its best shooting performance of the 2003-04 season hitting a season best 58.1 percent from the floor and 88.0 percent from the charity stripe.
CAA leading scorer Cyndy Wilks scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor and hitting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Two other Rams joined Wilks in double figures. Lauren Hogan recorded 16 points, while Ashley Eline netted a season-high 10 from off the bench.
With Virginia Commonwealth leading 12-11 at the 13:47 mark in the first half, Old Dominion went on a 10-2 run to take command of the lead and never look back. Up by eight, 27-19, the Lady Monarchs allowed the Rams to close within one with 5:26 left until the intermission with five of those points coming from Wilks. However, the Lady Monarchs would hold Virginia Commonwealth to just two points the rest of the half and end the first half up, 38-29.
The Lady Monarchs were in full control in the second half. The Rams pulled with seven twice, the last one a lay-up by Wilks with 16:46 remaining to pull withing 47-40, but Old Dominion would push its lead up to 20 points within the next four minutes. Redshirt freshman guard Shantel Wilson would give the Lady Monarchs its largest lead of the game, a 30-point 88-58 advantage, off a jumper with 5:06 left.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team returns to action next Thursday when they host James Madison at 7:00 p.m.
Seniors Max Nhassengo (Maputo, Mozambique) and Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) combined for 42 Lady Monarch points.