Feb. 17, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. - The Lady Monarch were able to hold off a second-half surge by the third-place Drexel Thursday evening at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, emerging with the 60-49 win. Rookie forward Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) poured in her seventh double-double of the year netting 12 points and collecting a career-high 15 boards as the Lady Monarchs snapped the Dragon's five-game win streak.
Old Dominion improved to 15-7 overall and 11-2 in the CAA race, while Drexel fell to 15-7 and 9-4 in the league. With a win tonight, Delaware remains a top the standings.
The Lady Monarchs saw an early 10 point second half lead cut to two with 2:43 left in the game. Old Dominion hit only five field goals the entire half and shot just 19.2 percent from the floor. After Drexel leading scorer Catherine Scanlon's jumper brought the Dragons within 51-49, the Lady Monarch defense clamped down not allowing the Dragons to score the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Lady Monarchs were clutch from the free throw line sinking eight of nine for the final margin. Old Dominion went 16-of-20 from the line in half number two and finished the evening hitting 71.4 percent. On the other hand, the Dragons went to the line just once in the second half.
Old Dominion controlled the first half of play and had a 33-25 advantage at the half. After both teams traded baskets in the opening minute, the Lady Monarchs went on a 9-0 tear and would only allow Drexel to come within six in the half. The Lady Monarchs enjoyed as much as a 12-point edge in the first half, leading 33-21 with 3:29 on the clock.
The second half saw Old Dominion up by 10, 44-34, off a T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) lay-up with 13:09 left in the game before the Dragons made their move. The Lady Monarchs were held without a field goal for the next 8:28 and would only hit one more the rest of the game. In the meantime, Old Dominion managed to keep Drexel at-bay hitting five of their eight attempts from the charity stripe. Junior Lawona Davis (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) would break the drought with 4:41 in the game to give the Lady Monarchs a six-point advantage, 51-45, but buckets from Katrina Martin and Scanlon cut the Drexel deficit to two, 51-49, with 2:43 left.
The Dragon's Narissa Suber, who was held scoreless in Drexel's last game, rebounded with 17 points. Scanlon added 14 points and grabbed eight boards.
Sophomore Tish Lyons (Newport News, Va.) and Davis each added in 11 points in the victory. Senior guard Shareese Grant (Va. Beach, Va.) had eight and dished out seven assists, one shy of her season-high.
The Lady Monarchs return to action on Sunday when they travel to William & Mary for a 2:00 p.m. match-up in Williamsburg.