Dec. 17, 2006
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte overcame a 16-point first half deficit and saw Old Dominion committ 32 turnovers as the Lady Monarchs fell 68-64 to the 49ers at Halton Arena on Sunday afternoon. The win was Charlotte's 15th straight home victory that begun after Old Dominion defeated them in December of 2005.
The Lady Monarchs fall to 3-5 overall, while the 49ers improve to .500 at 5-5.
Junior T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) and sophomore Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) both posted double-doubles in the loss. Jordan tallied a team-high 16 points and grabbed 10 boards. Green, in her second straight double figure scoring and rebounding performance, added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Shahida Williams (Newark, N.J.) was the other Lady Monarch in double figures with 14.
For the 49ers, Sabrina Gregory went 10-of-15 and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line to capture a game-high 26 points. Traci Ray was the other 49ers in double figures collecting 16.
Old Dominion held a 16-point edge, 30-14, with 4:47 remaining in the first half and entered the locker room with a 34-26 lead.
The second half saw the 49ers open on a 10-2 run and tie the game at 36-36 within the first three minutes of the second half. The lead quickly returned in favor of Old Dominion as the Lady Monarchs scored seven unanswered points. The Lady Monarch run started by two fast break lay-ups by sophomore Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.) gave ODU a 43-36 edge with 13:56 remaining in the game.
During the next four minutes, Charlotte would cut the Old Dominion to two, 46-44. After a 49ers miss, Old Dominion look to have regained momentum. The Lady Monarchs came down the court and had four opportunties for a bucket, but managed to retain possesion after three of those misses. Jordan missed a three-point and grabbed her own rebound. Junior Megan Pym (Newfield, N.Y.) missed two jumpers, but was able to grab her missed shot back. Then Jordan missed on another three-point attempt.
After Charlotte finally managed a defensive board, Traci Ray missed a three-pointer and Old Dominion capitialized as Jordan found senior Sherida Triggs (Norcross, Ga.) for a lay-up. Triggs' two points had Old Dominion up by four, 48-44, with 7:23 to go. However, momentum then swung the other way.
The 49ers' Ray didn't miss her next time down the court and a fast break by Danielle Burgin erased ODU's four-point lead and gave Charlotte its first lead since early part of the first half. On the following play, Triggs would go to the line and hit two free throws, but the 50-49 lead would be the final Old Dominion would see.
Charlotte scored eight points in the span of a minute to take control of the game for good. Ray would hit two more three's during that span as the 49ers held on to a 57-50 lead with 4:46 remaining.
Down the stretch, Charlotte went 2-of-4 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line as the Lady Monarchs fouled to stop the clock from winding down. Old Dominion meanwhile would get no closer than four points and go 6-of-11, including three misses from downtown. Williams, who at times struggled from the line, hit two free throws to cut the ODU deficit to 64-60 with 31 seconds left.
The Lady Monarchs shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68) from the field for the game. The 49ers shot just 27.6 percent (8-of-29) in the first half, but ignited to hit 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the second half including 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from three. Charlotte also shot 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the line, while Old Dominion was just 13-of-20 for 65.0 percent.
Old Dominion held a tremendous advantage on the boards, outrebounding Charlotte, 56-29, resulting in 20 second chance points for the Lady Monarchs.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team will return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Middle Tennessee. Tip-off will be 8:00 p.m. (EST).