Nov. 21, 2005
Virginia Tech Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game: Old Dominion at Virginia Tech - Cassell Coliseum - 7:30 p.m.
Livestats: Livestats available at www.hokiesports.com or by clicking here.
Radio: ESPN Radio - 1310 AM
Internet: Live audio of the ESPN 1310 broadcast is available via the Monarch All-Access pass at www.odusports.com.
Time Change: Please note that Tuesday night's game against the Hokies has been changed to from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. as Virginia Tech takes on UNC Greensboro in the second round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament.
About Old Dominion: The Lady Monarchs do not have long to dwell on their 56-93 season opening loss to #1/2 Duke on Sunday as they pack up and head to Blacksburg, Virginia on Monday afternoon for a Tuesday night game with the Virginia Tech Hokies. Sunday's game marked the first of five games against ranked teams this season, which also include #2/1Tennessee, #5/6 Rutgers, and #7/8 North Carolina. The loss snapped an eight game home win streak and dropped the Lady Monarchs overall record at the Ted Constant Convocation Center to 43-7. Three of those seven losses have come at the hands of teams ranked in the nation's Top Ten. The Lady Monarchs were without the services of Preseason Second Team All-CAA forward Tiffany Green. Green, a 6-2 sophomore from Chesapeake, Va., suffered a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in her right foot. No timetable for her return has been set. Without Green, junior Shantel Wilson made her second career start joining returning starters juniors Tish Lyons and Sherida Triggs along with senior and Preseason First Team All-CAA selection Lawona Davis. Sophomore Jen Nuzzo picked up the start at point guard, the second of her career. Three Lady Monarchs finished the afternoon in double digits including reserves T.J Jordan and Paula Muxiri. Jordan had the hot hand against the Blue Devils igniting for 17 points shooting 7-of-18 from the field. Muxiri shot 5-of-8 from the floor and hit two free throws for 12 points, while Lyons added 10. Lyons and Triggs each hauled in a team-high six rebounds. Newcomer Jazzmin Walters played 22 minutes at the point and collected eight assists in her collegiate debut.
About Virginia Tech: The Hokies welcome back four starters and nine letterwinners from last year's 17-12 season. Virginia Tech played to a 6-8 mark in its inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing seventh. The Hokies have one game under their belt with an 86-71 victory over fellow Colonial Athletic Association school, James Madison at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday. The Hokies were led by senior Carrie Mason with 20 points and five boards. Fellow senior Kerri Gardin added in 15 along with a team-high eight boards, while Brittany Cook poured in 17.
The Series With Virginia Tech: Old Dominion holds a 23-5 overall record against the Hokies. For the last five years the Hokies and Lady Monarchs have enjoyed a yearly meeting, but the Lady Monarchs have not won at Cassell Coliseum since a 71-55 victory back on December 7, 1991. While Virginia Tech has won at home by an average of 6.5 points the last two times, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, the Hokies have fallen by an average of 22.5 points. In fact it wa the Hokies which gave Old Dominion its very first win at the Ted Constant Convocation Center with a 63-49 win on December 21st 2002.
Recapping The Last Meeting: Click here for the box score.
Old Dominion: 87 Virginia Tech: 56
The Old Dominion women's basketball team, behind a game-high 22 points from senior guard Shareese Grant, earned its first victory of the season with a 87-56 win over Virginia Tech in front of 3,480 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The 31-point defeat was the biggest loss for the Hokies since a 42-77 setback to then top ranked Connecticut back on February 10th, 2002. The Lady Monarchs led the entire way and held a 44-27 advantage at the half. Nineteen of Grant's game-high 22 points came in the first half. Tech trailed 20-19 with 7:08 left in the half, but from there, Old Dominion took a 20-8 run over the next four minutes. After rookie T.J. Jordan netted one of two free throws with 4:41 on the clock putting ODU up 28-18, the Lady Monarchs held a double figure advantage the rest of the way. Halfway through the second-half, the Lady Monarchs were enjoying a 20-point lead. Sophomore Megan Pym converted a jumper with 9:57 left in the game to give Old Dominion the 64-44 edge. The Hokies were held scoreless for the final 4:28 of the game as the Lady Monarchs took advantage scoring 12 unanswered points to close the game.Sophomore Sherida Triggs was a monster on the boards collecting a career-high 17 rebounds resetting her previous high set back in the second game of the 2003-04 season with nine against a ranked Colorado squad. The game also marked Triggs' first career double-double as she was one of three Lady Monarchs in double figures with 12. Junior Lawona Davis was the other Lady Monarch in double figures with 13. Virginia Tech had just one player in double figures as Dawn Chriss shot 6-of-12 from the field for 12 points. Erin Gibson led the Hokies on the boards with seven. The Lady Monarchs shot just shy of 50 percent from the field ending the afternoon hitting 38-of-77 from the floor. Old Dominion held to Hokies to 33.3 percent from the field (21-of-63).
Add Another To The Rafters: Want to know why junior Shantel Wilson changed her jersey number to #13? On Tuesday, November 29th, when the Lady Monarchs host Penn State, the Old Dominion athletic department will retire the fifth women's basketball jersey. Tracy Claxton's #15 will be raised rafters joining Lady Monarch legends Nancy Lieberman, Inge Nissen, Anne Donovan, Ticha Penicheiro, and Clarisse Machanguana. Claxton spent two seasons at Kansas before transferring to Old Dominion in 1983. During her two seasons, Old Dominion went 55-8 culminating as Tournament MVP at the 1985 NCAA Championship. The 6-1 forward from New Haven, Connecticut is sixth on Old Dominion's all-time scoring leaders list just shy of the 2,000 point mark with 1,999 career points. Her 1434 career rebounds place her third on the all-time list.Claxton scored a career high 28 points against UCLA and grabbed 20 rebounds twice during her career, the first against Long Beach State in 1984, and the second in the 1985 NCAA final against Georgia. Her 37 rebounds collected during the national semifinals and finals are still at Final Four record 20 years later. Overall, she performed the double-double 37 times. Claxton earned All-District honors in 1984 and 1985 and she was named All-American in 1984 and 1985 by the National Sports Federation. She graduated from ODU in 1985 with a degree in Health and Physical Education.