Nov. 30, 2004
NORFOLK, Va. -- Four Lady Monarchs in double figures, led by 18 points from CAA Player of the Week Shareese Grant (Va. Beach, Va.) and a double-double by sophomore Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.), gave the Old Dominion women's basketball an 86-52 victory over East Tennessee State on Tuesday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The win gave Old Dominion back-to-back 30 points victories for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
The victory, the Lady Monarchs' 19th straight at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, upped Old Dominion's record to 2-1 on the season. East Tennessee State fell to 2-3 overall.
The Lady Bucs held the hot hand early, racing out to a 6-2 lead, but from there Old Dominion used a 16-2 run to take control of the game. Triggs sparked the rally at the 17:55 mark of the first half scoring seven of ODU's 16 points during the run while over the course of the next five minutes East Tennessee State held to just two points. Triggs added in another bucket with 9:36, giving Old Dominion a 22-12 lead, as the Lady Monarchs held a double figure lead the rest of the way. The Lady Monarchs held a 42-28 advantage at the half.
After leading 56-31 with 15:14 in the second half, East Tennessee got as close as 17 in the second half as the Lady Bucs scored eight unanswered points. However, Old Dominion responded with its own 8-0 run and continually built up its lead.
The last time Old Dominion recorded back-to-back 30 points wins was when the Lady Monarchs danced their way to the "Elite Eight." The 2001-02 Old Dominion women's basketball team, powered by four Lady Monarchs drafted by the WNBA, defeated Drexel, 90-57, and William & Mary, 70-36, to close out the regular season.
Triggs' collected her second straight double-double putting up 17 points along with 11 boards. Additionally the sophomore forward dished out a career-high five assists. Freshmen Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) and Shahida Williams (Newark, N.J.) both netted double figures for the first time in their careers. Williams had 10, while Green had a hot hand in the second half where she netted 11 of her 15 points.
For the Lady Bucs, Tiffani Mayes led the squad with 17 points and B.J. Banjo had 12. Mayes and Banjo both went perfect from the line hitting each of their five and six attempts respectively, as the team shot 83.3 percent from the free throw line. East Tennessee State shot 47.6 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Lady Monarch defense held the Lady Bucs to just 7-of-30 shooting for 23.3 percent in the second half. The Lady Bucs ended the game shooting a total of 33.3 percent from the field.
The Lady Monarchs' return to action when a ranked Rutgers' squad comes to town. Old Dominion takes on #16 (AP)/#19 (ESPN/USA TODAY/WBCA) Scarlet Knights on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Last season the Lady Monarchs defeated two ranked opponents on their home court in a 75-58 victory over #7 Penn State and a 73-68 win over #12/13 North Carolina.
The game will also mark a reunion of former high school teammates, ODU's Williams and Rutgers' Matee Ajavon. Together the duo helped Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, New Jersey to a 32-1 record and to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions and Essex County Tournament titles.