Nov. 29, 2006
DURHAM, N.C. -- Old Dominion women's basketball coach Wendy Larry will have to wait one more game to see if she reaches her 500th career victory as the fifth-ranked Blue Devils downed the Lady Monarhcs, 89-40, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night.
The loss, ODU's second to a ranked opponent this season, brings the Lady Monarchs to 2-3 overall. The Blue Devils remain perfect at 6-0.
Duke rushed out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. At the half, the Blue Devils held a commanding 43-11 lead. The 11 points scored by the Lady Monarchs tied the school record for fewest points in a half. Old Dominion only hit four field goals and had three points from the line. Junior Tamara Ransburg (Kansas City, Mo.) led ODU at the half with four points. The Lady Monarchs' top two scorers, junior T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) and senior Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.), were both held scoreless.
Old Dominion had a stronger second half but was outscored by Duke, 46-29.
Senior Tish Lyons (Newport News, Va.) was the lone Lady Monarch in double figures. Lyons finished the night with 11 points, nine of them coming in the second half.
Five Blue Devils reached double digits led by Abby Waner with 16 points. Carrem Gay poured in 13, including 11 first half points, followed by Joy Cheek with 12, Keturah Jackson with 11, and Alison Bales with 10.
The Duke defense held Old Dominion to 25.0 percent (13-of-52) shooting for the game, while going on to record a season-high 59.0 percent (36-of-61) from the floor.
The Blue Devils also won the battle of the board, 36-33. Lyons and junior Shahida Williams (Newark, N.J.) both grabbed four in the loss. Bales hauled in a game-high seven for the Blue Devils.
The Lady Monarchs will look to get back on track and try to give Larry win #500 when they travel to Penn State on Sunday. The game will be televised locally by Cox Cable.