Dec. 2, 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.
LIVESTATS: Log onto www.gopsusports.com for livestats of Sunday's game.
TELEVISION: Sunday's game will be aired on Cox Cable in the Hampton Roads area and replayed Monday between 6-8 p.m. on CSTV.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR 500?:Head Coach Wendy Larry is rapidly approaching the 500 victory mark in her career. To date she needs one victory to reach the mark. She currently holds a 499-185 overall record in her 23rd season as a head coach. Additionally, Coach Larry just recently captured her 450th victory as the head coach at her alma mater with a 57-46 win over Delaware State on November 25. She holds a 450-154 record in her 20th season at the helm of the Old Dominion program.
Wendy Larry Win Timeline:
Career Wins:
50: 11/27/87 - at Cincinnati - W, 59-49 - First game at ODU
100: 1/18/90 - at James Madison - W, 82-66
200: 2/5/95 - at William & Mary - W, 77-36
250: 1/7/97 - #9 Tennessee - W, 83-72
300: 3/13/98 - St. Francis (Pa.) - W, 92-39 - 1st Rnd. NCAA
400: 2/24/02 - at Drexel - W, 90-57
Wins At ODU:
1: 11/27/87 at Cincinnati - W, 59-49
50: 1/12/90 Notre Dame W, 62-61
100: 2/19/93 at Richmond W, 91-66
200: 1/5/97 at East Carolina W, 74-36
250: 3/1/98 vs. American W, 82-49 - CAA Tournament
300: 2/20/00 East Carolina W, 74-58
400: 2/29/04 at George Mason W, 81-64
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Lady Monarchs are looking to return to the win column and put their 40-89 loss to #Duke behind them. Senior Tish Lyons was the lone Lady Monarch to reach double digits against the Blue Devils, notching a season-high 11 points. It marked the first time this season that junior guard T.J. Jordan did not lead the team in the scoring department. Lyons also grabbed a team-high four rebounds along with junior Shahida Williams. Duke rushed out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. At the half, the Blue Devils held a commanding 43-11 lead. In their last win, a 57-46 home win against Delaware State, head coach Wendy Larry earned her earned her 450th win as the head coach of the Lady Monarch program and moved to within one game of collecting her 500th career win. Junior T.J. Jordan and senior Sherida Triggs led Old Dominion with 12 points each.
ABOUT PENN STATE: The Lady Lions enter Sunday's contest with a 4-5 record fresh off its 60-51 loss at Pitt Friday night. The loss was Penn State's fifth straight which have also included losses to common ODU opponents Duke and Rutgers. The Lady Lions fell to the Scarlet Knights, 44-57, at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands, and 42-70 to the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Penn State is returning the friendly confines of the Bryce Jordan Arena, site of their last win, a 75-49 victory over Notre Dame back on November 16. Penn State is led in scoring and rebounding by Amanda Brown (13.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg). Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Lions is Adrienne Squire (12.0 ppg), Kamela Gissendanner (10.1 ppg), and Tyra Grant (10.0). The Byrce Jordan Center, Penn State's home court will honor its 1,000,000th fan at the Old Dominion game.
SERIES WITH PENN STATE: Old Dominion leads the all-time series 6-4 with both teams trading wins and losses over the last six meetings. While Old Dominion holds a 4-0 record when playing the Lady Lions in Norfolk, the Lady Monarchs are looking for their first win in State College since 1983. Penn State holds a 3-1 series advantage on their home court.
LAST TIME VS. PENN STATE:It was a well balanced scoring attack which led the Old Dominion women's basketball team to its first win of the 2005-06 season with a 93-61 victory over Penn State back on November 29, 2005. Four Lady Monarchs reached double digits highlighted by a 20-point second-half scoring barrage by leading scorer T.J. Jordan. The Lady Monarchs' 32-point win over the Lady Lions was not only ODU's largest margin of victory over Penn State in the 10 games played between the two teams, but also the largest margin over a team from the BIG 10. After being held scoreless in the first half, sophomore T.J. Jordan once again came off the bench to lead her squad in scoring, becoming the first Lady Monarch to reach the 20-point mark last season. All six of Jordan's field goals came from three-point land and she added in four more points as she went a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.Jordan was joined by three others in double figures, Tish Lyons and Sherida Triggs with 16, and Lawona Davis with 17. Old Dominion had its best shooting percentages from the floor, three-point range, and the free throw line of the season. Old Dominion connected on 33-of-63 from the floor to finished shooting 48.6 percent for the night, 17-of-20 for 85 percent from the stripe, and 10-of-15 from downtown for 66.7 percent. Four Lady Monarchs went perfect from the line which included 4-for-4 performances by Triggs and Shantel Wilson. Old Dominion opened the game on a 22-9 run and never looked back.Penn State was outscored 49-26 in the second half.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU-PSU
60.2 - Scoring - 63.4
.360 - Field Goal Percentage - . 406
.286 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .343
.610 - Free Throw Percentage - .759
39.6 - Rebounds Per Game - 37.4
12.4 - Assists Per Game- 12.0
20.4 - Turnovers Per Game - 19.0
8.4 - Steals Per Game - 7.9
5.8 - Blocks Per Game - 3.3
RANK 'EM UP: The Blue Devils were the second ranked team the Lady Monarchs have faced this season. Before the season is through, Old Dominion will match-up against four teams represented in the Preseason Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Polls. The Lady Monarchs have already faced Kentucky, falling to a #21 (AP)/24 (ESPN/USA Today) Wildcat squad 55-69 in their home opener back on November 18th and fell 40-89 to #5 Duke on their home court. Other teams still left on the schedule include Tennessee (Dec. 22) and Rutgers (Dec. 30). Virginia, Penn State, and Middle Tennessee along CAA rivals Hofstra and Delaware have also been seen in the "receiving votes" categories in both polls. Old Dominion fell 72-92 at Virginia in the season opener and will meet Penn State on Sunday and Middle Tennessee on Dec. 19.
LESSON LEARNED - ONTO THE FUTURE: Old Dominion will look to put its 40-89 loss to #5 Duke behind them when they travel to Penn State this weekend. The Lady Monarchs' 11 first half points tied the school record for fewest points scored in a half with the orginial record set back in December of 1972 with 11 second half points in a 23-12 victory over James Madison. The Lady Monarchs score only 12 points in the first half of that game. Additionally, Old Dominion shot a low of 25.0 percent (13-of-52) from the floor, its lowest since shooting 26.0 percent (17-of-65) against Virginia in 1975.
GET THE BALL IN THE HOLE:Let's look the Lady Monarch shooting percentages in wins and losses:
Wins:
East Carolina - .520
Delaware State - .422
Losses:
Virginia - .353
Kentucky - .283
Duke - .250
In victories, the Lady Monarchs shoot an average of .474 from the floor, while the opponent has been held to just .321. Meanwhile in losses, Old Dominion has been shooting just .300 from the field, while opponents are connecting on .517.
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs host Chicago State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Cougars are coached by former Lady Monarch standout Angela Jackson. Jackson was a member of the Lady Monarchs in 1989 and 1990, helping the Old Dominion women's basketball team to two second round appearances in the NCAA. As a senior in 1990, she was named First Team All-Sun Belt averaging a team second best 16.6 points per game.