Jan. 14, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. -- Sophomore Tish Lyons (Newport News, Va.) poured in a career-high 20 points shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line to lead the Old Dominion Lady Monarch women's basketball team to a 78-59 victory over Virginia Commonwealth.
The Lady Monarchs improved to 6-6 on the year and 2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) while the Rams fell to 5-8 overall and 1-3 in the league.
The game stayed close throughout the first 10 minutes of the opening half. With Virginia Commonwealth leading 18-14 with 11:01 on the clock, the Lady Monarchs made their move, taking an 18-4 run to take control of the lead for good. Entering the locker room, Old Dominion held a 15-point, 41-26 advantage.
Opening the second half, the Lady Monarchs extended its lead to 21 as four quick points by Lyons and a lay-up by fellow classmate Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.) gave ODU a 47-26 lead. The Rams managed to cut the Lady Monarch lead to 11 with 7:56 remaining, 59-48. Meagan Evan notched six of her team-high 19 points during a 9-2 run, but Old Dominion would not allow the Rams to come any closer.
The Lady Monarch bench accounted for 40 of the Lady Monarchs' 78 points. Freshman and high school teammate of Lyons, Jen Nuzzo (Newport News, Va.), tied a career-high with eight points and classmate T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) collected 11. ODU leading scorer Shareese Grant (Va. Beach, Va.) added in 10 as the third Lady Monarch in double figures. Rookie Megan Pym (Newfield, N.Y.) collected a career-high 11 rebounds.
Three Rams were in double figures led by Lauren Hogan with a season-tying 19 points and a career-high 17 boards. Evans had 19, while Miranda Smith netted 10. The Virginia Commonwealth bench was held to just six points.
The Lady Monarchs return to action on Sunday, January 16, against Hofstra at 2:00 p.m.