Feb. 15, 2006
Old Dominion vs. UNC-Wilmington/at Delaware Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game: Friday: Old Dominion vs. UNC-Wilmington - Ted Constant Convocation Center - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: Old Dominion at Delaware - Bob Carpenter Center - 1:00 p.m.
Live Stats: Live stats are available at www.odusports.com for Friday's game vs. UNC-Wilmington and at www.udel.edu/sportsinfo for Sunday's game at Delaware.
Radio: ESPN Radio - 1310 AM - Join 13-time Sportscaster of the Year as Tony Mercurio calls all the action live. He will be joined by ODU Hall of Famer and former Lady Monarch Jan Trombly on color during all home games.
Internet: Live audio of the ESPN 1310 broadcast and video steam of all home games are available via the Monarch All-Access pass at www.odusports.com.
About Old Dominion: The Lady Monarchs' win streak is up to 12 as they picked up victories at George Mason and against Georgia State last week to improve to 14-7 overall and 12-0 in the CAA. In both games, Old Dominion outscored their opponent by an average of 43.5 point and through the last four games, the Lady Monarchs have had a 40.0 scoring margin.
Recapping Last Week: On Friday, Old Dominion improved to 38-0 all-time against George Mason with an 81-33 victory. Sophomore T.J. Jordan led the charge with a season-high 23 points, which included a 7-of-11 effort from downtown. Her seven treys tied her career-high and was two shy of tying the Lady Monarch record of three-pointers in a game recorded by Aubrey Eblin in 1998. Also scoring in double figures was senior Lawona Davis with 14. Davis narrowly missed her second double-double performance of the season as she ended the night with nine boards. Sophomore spark Shahida Williams led ODU with 12 rebounds. The Lady Monarchs were holding on a 18-14 lead with 10:05 remaining in the first half before going on a 20-3 run to enter the half ahead 38-17. Old Dominion completely dominated the second half outscoring George Mason, 43-16. The Patriot's netted a lay-up at the 11:42 mark to bring the score to 57-30, but it would the another ten and a half minutes before George Mason would see the ball go through the hoop again. During that 10:32 span, the Lady Monarch scored 19 unanswered points. The Patriots finally stopped the drought with 1:10 left for their final points of the night. Old Dominion continued to roll picked up an 89-50 victory over Georgia State in the first ever meeting between the two teams. Five players scored in double figures led by 16 points by Jordan. The game was never in doubt as the Lady Monarchs held the Lady Panthers scoreless for the contests' first seven and half minutes. Old Dominion opened the game on a 16-0 run and never looked back. The Lady Monarchs enjoyed a 44-24 halftime lead. Jordan scored nine points in the first opening stanza, which included going 3-of-4 from downtown. In the second half, Old Dominion outscored Georgia State, 45-26, and led by as many as 40 late in the stanza. Joining Jordan in double figures were junior Paula Muxiri with a career tying 14 points, senior Lawona Davis with 13, junior Shantel Wilson with a career-high 12, and junior Sherida Triggs with 11. All of Triggs' 11 points came in the second half of action.
About UNC-Wilmington: The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks enter Friday night's game with a 13-9 overall mark and 7-9 record in CAA play. Headed up by 2003 CAA Coach of the Year Ann Hancock, UNC-Wilmington was picked 11th in the CAA Preseason Poll after losing four starters, including 2005 CAA Rookie of the Year, Meagan Samis. The Seahawks opened the CAA portion of its schedule as one of the hottest teams in the conference rattled off four straight victories, which included win over William & Mary and 2005 CAA runner-up Delaware, and currently sit in sixth place. After suffering setbacks to Delaware and Hofstra, the Seahawks returned to the win column last Sunday with a 53-41 home win against Drexel. On the stat sheet, UNC-Wilmington is led by Sasha Taylor, who is averaging 10.7 points and 6.8 points per game. Taylor, a guard/forward, is a redshirt freshman having suffered a knee injury early last season. Also featured on the roster is freshman forward Alex Stewart. Stewart played scholastically at nearby Great Bridge High School in Cheseapeake. As a senior she averaged 13.2 points and 14.5 rebounds per game and led Great Bridge to a 20-6 record, its first 20-win season since 1998. Additionally, she was named the Virginian Pilot Southeastern District Player of the Year.
The Series With UNC-Wilmington: The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks are winless against the Lady Monarchs with Old Dominion owning a 32-0 all-time record. The two teams became rivals when the Lady Monarchs joined the CAA back in the 1991-92 season and outside of the regular season have faced each other five times during the CAA Tournament. Several games in recent memory have been close affairs with the Lady Monarchs escaping Trask Coliseum in 2003 with a 51-48 overtime victory and edging out the Seahawks at Trask, 59-55, last season. Tonight will mark the only regular season meeting between these two teams.
Last Time Vs. UNC-Wilmington: The Old Dominion women's basketball clamped down on the CAA's leading scoring, allowing former Seahawk and CAA Rookie of the Year Meagan Samis just four points, as the Lady Monarchs defeated UNC-Wilmington, 76-52, on February 24th at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The Lady Monarchs had four in double figures led by Lawona Davis with 16 points. Davis also added in three assists, three steals, and six rebounds. Former UNC-Wilmington player Lindsay Isom was the only Seahawk in double figures with 11. Samis, who entered the game with a league leading 17.0 points per game was held to just one field goal netted with 5:29 in the first half and two free throws late in half number two. The redshirt freshman finished the night 1-of-7 from the field with a team-high four rebounds and three assists. Forward Tiffany Green narrowly missed her eighth double-double of the year netting 12 points and nine boards. Shareese Grant had 14 points to go along with six assists, while Sherida Triggs scored 10, including the games' first eight points. Old Dominion swatted away a season-high 11 blocks, with Green, Triggs, and Megan Pym all rejecting three Seahawk shots. Additionally, the Lady Monarch committed a season-low 10 turnovers. With the score tied at 4-4 in the opening minutes of play, the Lady Monarchs took off on a 12-2 run and never looked back. After extending its lead to 12 with 8:17 left in the first half, UNC-Wilmington took a 7-1 run to close within six, 24-18. The run was capped by Samis' first bucket of the night, however, it would the closest the Seahawks would come to the Old Dominion the rest of the night. From there, Old Dominion rattled off nine unanswered points to go up by 15 and maintain a double digit lead for the rest of the game. The Seahawks would only manage two field goals, both by leading scorer Isom as the Lady Monarchs held a 35-22 edge at the half. Old Dominion expanded its lead by as many as 30 in the second half.
About Delaware: The Fightin' Blue Hens enter the weekend with a 17-5 overall mark and are presently in a tied with Hofstra for third place in the CAA with a 9-4 league record. Delaware will host Towson Friday night before welcoming the Lady Monarchs to the Bob Carpenter Center. The Fightin' Blue Hens have certainly had "home court" advantage this season as they enter the weekend with a 9-0 home record. Tyresa Smith currently leads Delaware, averaging 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Melissa Czorniewy is also averaging double figures for the Blue Hens, checking into the weekend posting 13.4 points per outing. Junior Chrissy Fisher is also pouring in double figures with 10.6 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds per game. Fisher missed eight games earlier this season with a sprained foot but returned to action two weeks ago. Today will mark the only regular season meeting between these two teams.
The Series With Delaware: Old Dominion holds an 8-3 all-time record with the Fightin' Blue Hens. Two of the three Blue Hen victories have occurred at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, while the other occurred at the Ted Constant Convocation Center snapping ODU's 122 CAA home game win streak. Delaware's first victory over the Lady Monarchs happened in 2002 with a 58-50 victory. However, in the rematch, the Lady Monarchs captured their 12th straight CAA title with a 66-58 win in the CAA Tournament championship game. Last year, the Blue Hens swept the season series from the Lady Monarchs, however, once again, the Lady Monarchs rebounded by defeating the Blue Hens, 78-74, in the championship game of the CAA Tournament. The game, which gave ODU its 14th consecutive CAA title, went into overtime and was one of the most memorable tournament finales in memory.
Last Time Vs. Delaware: Back on March 12th, 2005, Old Dominion University's Shareese Grant scored 15 of the Lady Monarchs' final 18 points to net a career-high 35 points and was named tournament Most Outstanding Performer for the third year in a row to lead #2-seed ODU to a thrilling 78-74 come-from-behind victory over top-seed Delaware in the only overtime game ever played in the conference finals. The Lady Monarchs claimed their NCAA record 14th consecutive conference crown with the win. Grant hit four straight jump shots in a span of two minutes to give the Lady Monarchs a 66-64 lead with 1:20 remaining in regulation. Delaware's Tyresa Smith converted a three-point play to give the Blue Hens a 67-66 advantage with :57 to play. Smith added another free throw at :38 as UD took a 68-66 lead. Grant countered with a baseline jumper to tie it with :13 remaining and Delaware was unable to get off a shot sending the game into overtime for the first time in CAA Championship history. Tiffany Young opened the scoring in overtime as she was fouled and hit a layup at the 3:50 mark. She converted the free throw to make it 71-68. TJ Jordan quickly responded five seconds later as she connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key, her third trey of the game, to knot the score at 71-71. Young connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 2:44 left to give the Blue Hens a 72-71 lead. Grant answered with another jump shot and 1-of-2 free throws with 1:59 to go as ODU took a 74-72 lead. Smith hit the second of two foul shots with 1:32 left to cut the ODU margin to 74-73. Shahida Williams, a 48 percent free throw shooter coming into the game, went to the line with 1:23 left and made both free throws as ODU increased its lead to three points. Delaware's Tiara Malcom, the CAA Player of the Year, made 1-of-2 free throws with :37 to go in the extra session to cut the ODU lead to 76-74. Malcom became the CAA's all-time leader in free throws made (531) as she went 13-of-16 from the line. Smith stole the ball from Tish Lyons with :10 on the clock. Grant, a CAA All-Defensive team selection, made a steal deep in the Blue Hens' frontcourt and went in for an uncontested score to clinch the victory for ODU. Grant, who shot a scorching 15-of-19 from the field, added a team-high seven assists. After scoring just six points at the half, she went for 29 in the second half and overtime to lead the Lady Monarch charge. Jordan had 11 points and Tiffany Green added nine points and seven rebounds. Delaware was led by Young's career-high of 23 points and nine rebounds. Malcom added 19 points and Smith 18. Old Dominion out-rebounded Delaware 43-38 but the Blue Hens held an advantage at the line, as UD hit 29-of-40 free throws while ODU made 11-of-19. The Blue Hens led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 35-28 advantage into intermission. UD maintained its lead until late in the second half when Tiffany Green knotted the score at 58-58 with 5:19 remaining. There were four ties in the final 3:21 of regulation play. Smith converted the first of two free throw with :38 remaining to give the top-seed a 68-66 advantage. After a miss on the back end and a timeout by ODU, the Lady Monarchs got the tying basket at :13 to force the game into overtime.
T.J. Jordan - CAA Co-Player of the Week: Old Dominion sophomore point guard T.J. Jordan was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Player of the Week for the week ending February 12th. Jordan averaged 19.5 points and shot 59.1 percent from the floor and 60 percent from three-point range in Old Dominion's two victories last week. Against Mason in a 48-point 81-33 win, she led the team with a season-high 23 points, the third time she has reached the 20 points mark this season. Additionally, she tied her career-high with seven three-pointers made, which is just two off the school record. Jordan followed by pouring in a game-high 16 points in a 89-50 victory over Georgia State as one of five Lady Monarchs in double figures. She captured all but one point from downtown finishing the afternoon shooting 5-of-9. Additionally, she dished out five assists and collected three rebounds. On the season, Jordan is averaging at team-best 13.5 points per game and is shooting 41.6 from downtown. Last week she ranked 14th in the country in three-pointers made (2.9).
The Highs And The Lows: The 48-point, 81-33 victory over George Mason last Friday night, was the largest for Old Dominion this season. The Patriots were only able to score 17 points in the first half and 16 in the second. Not only were the 33 points scored by George Mason the lowest point total allowed by the Lady Monarch defense this season, the 16 points netted by the Patriots tie the lowest points in a half for an ODU opponent this season as well. Drexel was the other school to net just 16 points in a half. That occurred during the second half of February 3rd's 76-49 victory at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
They Shoot, They Score: Old Dominion shot 55.6 percent from the field in last Sunday's 89-50 win over Georgia State, the third time in the last four games the Lady Monarchs have shot over 50 percent from the floor.
D-D-D-Defense: Last Sunday, Old Dominion kept one of the top scoring threats in the CAA in check. Georgia State's Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen entered the game averaging 17.9 points against CAA competition, good enough to rank second among the league players. However against the Lady Monarchs she was held scoreless in the first half and she collected just six points total.
The Latest Trend: Old Dominion opponents have not gotten over the 50-point mark in the Lady Monarchs' last four games. Also in the last four games, the Lady Monarchs have averaged a 40.0 margin of victory.
Back To The Polls: The Lady Monarchs are making appearance in both national polls this week. Old Dominion received two votes in the Associated Press Poll and one vote in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.
Promotions at the Constant Center: On Friday against UNC-Wilmington enjoy half-time entertainment by the Shake'n'Bake Ballers. Also bring a camera and get your picture taken with Dora the Explorer during either pre-game or half-time. Also the NCAA's mascot J.J. Jumper will be making an appearance.