March 5, 2006
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Old Dominion University women's basketball team closed out the 2005-06 regular season with an 82-56 victory against CAA newcomer Georgia State at GSU Arena on Saturday night. The Lady Monarchs, the top seed at the 2006 CAA Women's Basketball Tournament, conclude the regular season 19-8 overall and 17-1 in the CAA.
The Lady Monarchs receive a first round bye at the CAA Tournament and await the winner of Wednesday's play-in victor between #8 George Mason and #9 Virginia Commonwealth. Tip-off will be approximately 7:30 on Thursday at the Patriot Center in Fairfax.
Georgia State meanwhile completes its inaugural season as a member of the CAA as the No. 12 seed in the upcoming tournament as they fell to 8-19 overall and 3-15 in the CAA with the loss to ODU.
Paula Muxiri (Luanda, Angola) scored 20 points off the bench off 7-for-7 field goal shooting to lead four Old Dominion players in double figures. Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.) recorded 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for another double-double, while Lawona Davis (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) totaled 10 points and T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) finished with 12.
Junior guard Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen led Georgia State with 12 points. Freshman forward/center Marcquitta Head registered eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Monica Thomas and junior guard Ashley Strickland each had eight points.
Leading 27-23 with 6:04 left in the first half, ODU began to pull away as Muxiri capped a 7-0 run with a layup for 34-23 advantage. The Lady Monarchs held a 41-32 advantage heading into halftime.
Old Dominion continued to roll in the second half exploding to take a 15-point lead, 49-34, in the second half's opening three minutes. Roegiers-Jensen pulled State to within 12, but costly turnovers led to six straight points for the Lady Monarchs, who led 60-39 with 13:03 remaining. Old Dominion posted its largest lead of the game, 27 points, on two occasions in the final five minutes of the second period.
After committing a season-low 10 miscues Thursday against Va. Commonwealth, Georgia State made 27 turnovers that led to 24 points for Old Dominion. ODU shot 53 percent for the game, including 42 percent from beyond the arc, and 79 percent from the foul line.
The Lady Monarchs also out scored the Lady Panthers in the paint, 42-26. State made 42 percent of its field goals and was 64 percent from the charity stripe. Georgia State out rebounded Old Dominion, 34-30.