Nov. 20, 2006
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RADIO: For the 16th-straight season ESPN Radio (1310 am - Norfolk, Va.) will be broadcasting all the Lady Monarch contests. Thirteen-time sportscaster of the Year Tony Mercurio will call all the action. Former Lady Monarch and ODU Hall of Fame inductee, Adrienne Goodson and former assistant coach Susan Montgomery will join Mercurio and add color commentary at all home games at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. A monthly fee of $6.95 through the College Pass program, which also provides the audio and video broadcasts of over 100 colleges and universities, will allow fans to listen to the broadcast online at www.odusports.com.
LAST TIME VS. EAST CAROLINA: Freshman Myriah Spence scored a career high 29 points and keyed a 17-2 ODU run to start the second half as Old Dominion defeated East Carolina, 92-64 in a CAA contest back on February 4, 2001 at the old ODU Fieldhouse. Spence scored 13 points in the first half as ODU led 43-30. She then scored five points in the Lady Monarchs 17-2 run to start the second half which increased the lead to 60-32 lead with 14:35 left in the game. Spence also was perfect six-for-six from three-point range. Four other Lady Monarchs scored in double figures. Freshman Monique Coker scored 17 points, while Hamchetou Maiga and Okeisha Howard scored 11 each. Tiffany Thompson led ODU with eight rebounds, while Howard dished out a game high seven assists. Old Dominion shot a blistering .603 (35-58) from the field, while ECU shot .286 (18-63). ODU outrebounded ECU, 47-30 in winning their 110th straight league game. ECU was led by Lucina Mason with 14 points, while Tali Robich and Alisha Bishop added 13 points each.
SERIES WITH EAST CAROLINA: Tonight will mark the 49th meeting between the Lady Monarchs and Pirates with Old Dominion holding a 39-9 advantage in the all-time series. East Carolina was once a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and regularly met Old Dominion on the hardwood from the Lady Monarchs entry into the league in 1991 through the Pirates depature to Conference USA after the 2000-01 season. This will mark the first meeting between these two schools since the Pirates left the CAA. East Carolina only managed to defeat ODU once during regular season competition with a 71-57 in February of 1992. After that Old Dominion rattled off 26 straight wins over the Pirates including seven CAA Tournament victories.
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates enter Tuesday night's competition with a 1-2 overall mark. East Carolina opened the season against ODU rival James Madison, falling 82-66 in Harrisonburg. The Pirates then traveled to the TD Banknorth Classic in Burlington, Vermont earning an 80-71 victory over Harvard, but falling 57-43 to host Vermont in the championship game. The Lady Monarchs represent one of four CAA schools on the Pirates' slate this season. Including James Madison and Old Dominion, East Carolina will square off against Virginia Commonwealth and UNC-Wilmington. Entering tonight's game, East Carolina is led by sophomore guard Jasmine Young (17.3 ppg) and senior center Cherie Mills (11.3 ppg). Mills is also adding in a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU/ECU
63.5 - Scoring - 63.0
.320 - Field Goal Percentage - .345
.250 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .345
.679 - Free Throw Percentage - .621
42.0 - Rebounds Per Game - 41.7
12.0 - Assists Per Game- 13.0
17.0 - Turnovers Per Game - 20.7
8.5 - Steals Per Game - 9.7
5.5 - Blocks Per Game - 1.0
TAKING AWAY THE GOOD: Nobody likes to lose, but let's look at one thing the Lady Monarchs improved on from the exhibition season ...Free Throw Shooting. In their last exhibition showing, a 105-50 win over M.I. Express, Old Dominion shot just 54.5 percent from the charity stripe hitting 24-of-44. Of the nine Lady Monarchs that got to the line, only three shot 50 percent or better (Sherida Triggs - 7-of-7, T.J. Jordan - 4-of-4, Jessica Canady - 3-of-4). Against Virginia, Old Dominion improved that mark to 63 percent as four of the six Lady Monarchs who got to the line hit 75 percent or better. The number got even better in their home opener against Kentucky as Old Dominion shot 73.1 percent. Of the eight Lady Monarchs who got to the line against the Wildcats, only one Lady Monarchs missed more than one free throw. Senior forward Tish Lyons went a perfect 4-of-4 and T.J. Jordan went 6-of-7 from the stripe to tie her career-high in free throws made and attempted.
0-2...SO WHAT?: The Lady Monarchs may be 0-2 on the 2006-07 season, but that's no reason to think the sky is falling. Last season, Old Dominion opened the season 0-2 and finished the year with a 22-9 overall mark and their 15th straight CAA title. The 2003-04 Lady Monarchs opened 0-2 and picked up ranked wins over #7 Penn State and #12/13 North Carolina. They finished 25-7 along with the CAA title. The 2002-03 Lady Monarchs opened 0-3 but managed a 20 win season going 21-9 with a CAA title. The 2000-01 season saw Old Dominion go 0-2 and also finished with a 21-9 mark and a CAA title. The 1992-93 women's team started the year off 0-4, but ended the year 22-8 overall, with yes...another CAA title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since the doors opened at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in 2002, the Lady Monarchs have enjoyed a 53-11 record.
Ranked Wins At The Constant Center:
11/25/03 - #7 Penn State - W, 75-68
12/7/03 - #12/13 UNC - W, 73-68
12/5/04 - #16/19 Rutgers - W, 69-61
Losses At The Constant Center:
11/22/02 - Virginia - L, 55-63
1/7/03 - #5 Tennessee - L, 63-91
1/31/03 - Rutgers- L, 59-67
3/22/03 - Boston College (NCAA) - L, 72-73
1/2/05 - #8 Tennessee - L, 58-68
1/9/05 - Delaware - L, 70-73
11/20/05 - #1/2 Duke - L, 56-93
12/4/05- #19/20 Vanderbilt - L, 77-82
12/29/05 - #5 North Carolina - L, 80-88 (OT)
3/19/06- George Washington (NCAA) - L, 72-87
11/18/06 - #21/24 Kentucky - L, 55-69
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs close out their three-game homestand hosting Delaware State on Saturday, November 25th. The Delaware State game will be the first meeting between the Lady Monarchs and Hornets. Tip-off is at 4:00 p.m. with the ODU men's team meeting Richmond in a televised game earlier in the day. The Pirates travel to Richmond for a Friday night meeting with Virginia Commonwealth.