Oct. 27, 2006
NORFOLK, Va. -- The exhibition portion of the 2006-07 Old Dominion women's basketball schedule gets underway on Sunday in the annual Blue-White Game to be held at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Tip-off is 2:00 p.m.
The Lady Monarchs welcome back four starters, including Preseason Second Team All-CAA honorees, senior forward Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.) and junior guard T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.). Triggs averaged a team second best 11.4 points and a team leading 7.2 rebounds last season with the team. She led the CAA in field goal percentage and ranked 11th in the league in rebounding and seventh in blocked shots. Jordan, the 2006 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, led her team with 13.4 points per game and dished out an average of 2.3 assists per game in 2006. Nationally, she ranked sixth in the country averaging 3.0 three-pointers made a game.
Other starters returning include seniors Tish Lyons (Newport News, Va.) and Shantel Wilson (Washington, D.C.). Lyons, a two year veteran of the starting line-up, poured in 9.6 points per game and 4.3 boards per game and ranked ninth in the CAA field goal percentage. Wilson meanwhile averaged 5.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in her first year as a member of the starting five.
Other letterwinners returning include juniors Megan Pym (Newfield, N.Y.) and Shahida Williams (Newark, N.J.) and sophomore Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.). Pym averaged 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Additionally she was one of the team's top free throw shooters. Williams blossomed her sophomore year last year as she averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 boards per game, fifth in scoring and second in rebounding on the team. Walters came off the bench in her first season as back-up point guard and is looking to take over the starting role this season.
Three Lady Monarch make their highly anticipated return to the hardwood in junior Tamara Ransburg (Kansas City, Mo.) and sophomore Jen Nuzzo (Newport News, Va.) and Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.). Ransburg is a highly touted transfer from Kansas where she ranks fourth in all-time blcoks and led the team in scoring as a freshman. Green, a CAA All-Rookie selection and Preseason Second Team All-CAA pick before injury cut her season short right before the start of the regular season. Green averaged 10.1 points and 8.3 boards as a rookie Lady Monarch. Nuzzo appeared in five games last year as the team's starting point guard before she had to sit with an injury. Before her injury hit, she averaged 2.4 points and 2.0 assists per game. As a freshman she averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 assists per game.
Two newcomers will make their Lady Monarch debut on Sunday as well. Freshman forward Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) was a honorable metnion McDonald's High School American and Jamestown High School's all-time leading scorer (girls or boys). Freshman guard Vicki Collier (Upper Marlboro, Md.) was a McDonald's All-American nominee and a Top Ten Adidas All-American.
The Blue-White game will be the first of three exhibition games for the Lady Monarchs before the regular season gets underway. Old Dominion takes on Team Concept on Wednesday, November 1st and M.I. Express on Tuesday, November 7th. The 2006-07 regular season gets underway on Sunday, November 12th at Virginia as they open up the Cavaliers new building, the John Paul Jones Arena. ODU's first home game will be on Homecomming on Saturday, November 18th versus Kentucky.
For ticket information call the Constant Center Box Office at 757-683-4444 or log on to www.constantcenter.com.