Jan. 31, 2007
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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.
NOTE: The Lady Monarch radio broadcast of their Thursday, Feb. 1 contest at James Madison, will be moved from ESPN Radio 1310 to MaxMedia FM station, Star 94.1, at 7 p.m. The men's contest at conference rival Drexel at 7:00 p.m. will be heard on ESPN Radio 1310 (AM).
LIVESTATS: Log on to www.jmusports.com for livestats of Thursday's game.
VIDEO: The Colonial Athletic Association will web stream Thursday's women's basketball match-up of No. 25 James Madison versus Old Dominion in Harrisonburg, Va. Viewers can watch the exciting game from their homeby accessing www.caasports.com.
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Old Dominion women's basketball team extended its win streak to nine as they closed out the season series with Virginia Commonwealth and met up with William & Mary for its first meeting of the year. Last Thursday, the Lady Monarchs defeated VCU, 84-62, handing the Rams a loss for the second time this season. It was neck-and-neck for much of the first half with 10 ties, seven lead changes, and neither team able to establish more than a three-point lead until the final minutes of the half. Junior guard T.J. Jordan tied the game for the 10th and final time at the 1:29 mark knotting the score at 27-27. Her lay-up began a 8-0 run, with six consecutive points coming from Jordan. Old Dominion entered the half ahead, 33-27. In the first five minutes of the second half, Old Dominion held the Rams without a field goal. The Rams pulled no closed than ten in the second half. Senior Sherida Triggs posted her first double-double of the year and 10th of her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan led the troops with 20 points, the fifth time she has poured in 20 or more points this season. Senior Tish Lyons was the other Lady Monarch in double figures with 10 points. Sophomore Jazzmin Walters dished out eight assists, tying both her season and career high. On Sunday, the Lady Monarchs team kept CAA Preseason Player Kyra Kaylor in check, holding her to two points total, as they collected their ninth straight victory in a 63-47 win over William & Mary. The game opened with the Lady Monarchs holding the Tribe without a bucket for seven and half minutes as they raced out to a 15-0 lead. William & Mary didn't reach double figure until 2:51 left in the half. Old Dominion held a 31-18 lead at intermission. The Lady Monarchs led by as many as 18 in the second half. The Lady Monarchs hauled in a season-high 57 rebounds and were led by the 15-board effort by sophomore Tiffany Green and 10-board performance of junior Tay Ransburg. Green's 15 rebounds tied her career mark which also occurred Drexel on February 15, 2005. The defensive effort held William & Mary to just 28.6 percent (18-of-63) from the floor, the lowest an ODU opponent has shot this season. Old Dominion managed to outscored the Tribe bench, 31-2. Sophomore Jazzmin Walters poured in 12 points to lead the lady Monarchs. Senior Tish Lyons added in 10 from off the bench, along six assist to tie her career-high.
LADY MONARCH MOMENTS:
The Lady Monarchs defeated William & Mary, 63-47, last Sunday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center The game marked ODU's ninth straight win overall, 12th straight win against CAA competition, and 30th consecutive CAA home victory.
The victory over William & Mary also gave Old Dominion an 8-0 record during the month of January.
Sophomore Tiffany Green hauled in 15 rebounds to tie her career mark against the Tribe as the Lady Monarch registered a season-high 57 boards.
The victory over William & Mary also gave Old Dominion an 8-0 record during the month of January.
The Old Dominion defense kept CAA Preseason Player of the Year Kyra Kaylor to just two points. Coming off a career-high equaling 30 point night in Thursday's victory at Georgia State, Kaylor was held scoreless through the first half and didn't notch her first points until the 15:20 mark of the second half. Kaylor entered the game averaging 14.6 points per game and was ninth in the league in scoring.
Senior Sherida Triggs captured her first double-double and 10th of her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds in last Thursday night's victory over the Rams. Triggs is the third Lady Monarch to perform a double-double this season joining sophomore Tiffany Green and junior Tay Ransburg.
Junior T.J. Jordan poured in a game-high 20 points against Virginia Commonwealth to lead all scorers. It was Jordan's fifth 20+ point game and the 13th time this season she has led the team in scoring. She is currently third nationally in three-pointers made averaging 3.3 per game.
Sophomore Jazzmin Walters continues to grow in her role as the Lady Monarchs starting point guard. The second year Lady Monarch dished out eight assists, tying both her career and season-high while committing only one turnover against VCU.
ABOUT JAMES MADISON: The James Madison Dukes enter Thursday's contest with a 17-2 overall mark and perfect 9-0 CAA record. The Dukes cracked the Top 25 in the Associated Press Poll this week at No. 25. James Madison, who had received votes in the AP poll the last three weeks, moved into the Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 1987-88 season, when they were 14th. The Dukes have four netting double figures led by senior Meredith Alexis who is averaging 18.5 points and 11.7 points per game. She is 32nd in scoring and sixth in rebounding in the country and leads the CAA in both categories. Junior Tamera Young is pouring in 17.0 points per game ranking fourth among her CAA peers. Senior Shirely McCall is adding 11.3 points per outing followed by senior Lesley Dickinson at 11.1 points per game.
SERIES WITH JAMES MADISON:The Lady Monarchs have faced no other opponent as many times as they have the Dukes. Thursday's game will represent the 62nd meeting between Old Dominion and James Madison with the Lady Monarchs owning a 47-14 advantage in the all-time series. Five of those 14 James Madison victories have occurred during CAA competition with probably the most memorable Duke win being the 49-48 victory which snapped ODU's 113 game CAA win-streak. James Madison handed Old Dominion its only loss last season in conference competition, 75-68, but in the rematch during the CAA Tournament, the Lady Monarchs walked away with a 58-54 win for their 15th straight conference crown.
LAST TIME VS. JAMES MADISON: The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs edged the James Madison Dukes 58-54 on March 11th, 2006 in a thrilling title game to capture their record 15th-consecutive CAA championship. T.J. Jordan led the victors with 13 points in the game and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer. Former Lady Monarch Paula Muxiri added 11 to join Jordan on the All-Tournament team, and Lawona Davis scored all nine of her points in the second half to aid the Lady Monarchs. Tamera Young and Meredith Alexis were also named to the All-Tournament team, with Young notching 10 points and Alexis recording a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Andrea Benvenuto added 10 points for the Dukes. It was a back-and-forth battle in a first half that included six ties and 11 lead changes, with James Madison eventually claiming the advantage at the break 29-26. Neither team led in the period by more than five points. The Dukes took advantage of 11 ODU turnovers and converted 13 of 15 free throws to build the three-point intermission lead. Young led JMU with 10 points at the half, while Alexis contributed eight and five rebounds. Old Dominion held tight after receiving half of its points from the bench in the period, with Muxiri scoring six and Shahida Williams netting five. Jordan pitched in eight. Old Dominion jumped out of the gates in the second half with six quick points to claim a 32-29 lead, and continued on an 20-9 run in the first ten minutes to make it 46-38. That was as large as the lead would get, however, as James Madison battled back to cut it to three, 52-49, on a fast break layup by Benvenuto with 3:20 to go. The Dukes' defense then held strong on the next possession and forced an ODU shot clock violation to gain the ball back. Kisha Stokes gathered and offensive rebound and put it back in at 2:33. She was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to tie the score at 52. Muxiri answered with a three-pointer a minute later to regain a three-point lead for ODU. On the next trip down the court, the Dukes' shot clock was down to one second when Andrea Benvenuto was fouled by Muxiri when attempting a three-pointer of her own. She only made two of the three fouls shots, however, and the score was 55-54 in ODU's favor with 58 seconds to play. The Lady Monarchs' Shantel Wilson then committed a turnover with 35 seconds on the clock and JMU called a timeout. Jasmin Lawrence drove the lane in similar fashion to Friday's game-winning shot, but missed the layup and the ball deflected out of bounds to ODU. JMU's Shirley McCall fouled Davis on the inbounds pass with 7.2 seconds remaining. Davis made the first free throw to make it 56-54, but missed the second. Sherida Triggs was there to gather the carom, and was immediately fouled and sent to the line. She hit both shots to ice the championship, 58-54.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - JMU
69.5 - Scoring - 72.8
.423 - Field Goal Percentage - .435
.325 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .363
.639 - Free Throw Percentage - .693
42.0 - Rebounds Per Game - 43.2
15.5 - Assists Per Game- 15.2
20.1 - Turnovers Per Game - 16.8
10.9 - Steals Per Game - 7.9
4.4 - Blocks Per Game - 2.8
FIRST TEAM TARGETS: The Old Dominion defense has held members of the Preseason First Team All-CAA team to three points thus far. The Lady Monarchs held Hofstra's Vanessa Gidden to one point on 0-of-7 shooting from the floor and CAA Preseason Player of the Year Kyra Kaylor to just two points on 1-of-11 shooting. Coming off a career-high equaling 30 point night in a win at Georgia State, Kaylor was held scoreless through the first half and didn't notch her first points until the 15:20 mark of the second half. Kaylor entered the game averaging 14.6 points per game and was ninth in the league in scoring.
CRASH: Old Dominion hauled in a season-high 57 rebounds in its last game, a 63-47 win over William & Mary Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Tiffany Green hauled in 15 rebounds to tie her career mark.
LOOKING AT THE BENCH: Since beginning CAA action on January 4th, the Lady Monarch bench as been producing three times the amount as the opponent bench. Through seven conference games, ODU's bench has collected 188 points as compared to their opponent's 63. Against Georgia State, ODU outscored the Lady Panther bench, 32-6, and outscored Hofstra's bench 24-4 the following game.
RANK 'EM UP: Old Dominion will take on its fourth ranked opponents when they travel to James Madison on Thursday night. ODU got its first win in seven attempts over a team either ranked for receiving votes in the AP or USA Today Poll with a 72-55 win over Rutgers and followed with a 74-59 victory over CAA rival Hofstra. Tennessee marked the third ranked team, and second in the Top Five, the Lady Monarchs faced this season. 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, fell 40-89 to #5 Duke on their home court on November 30th, and was defeated by #5 Tennessee 59-75, although the game was tied with just 1:31 left in the first half. 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, lost at Penn State, 77-80, despite overcoming a 20-point second half deficit, and was edged out 71-86 by Middle Tennessee. Still up for the Lady Monarchs on the poll front is Delaware, who comes to the Constant Center on February 11th.
FROM DOWNTOWN: Junior guard T.J. Jordan is third in the country in three-point field goals made with 3.3 per game and is 74th in three-point field goal percentage at .365. She has 902 career points which puts on track to reach 1,000 points in about seven games (or so). She has 62 three-point field goals this season and 202 for her career. Aubrey Eblin holds the school record in both categories with 97 treys made during the 1997-98 season and 250 made during her career.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Three Lady Monarchs have double-doubles under their belt. Redshirt sophomore Tiffany Green became the first Lady Monarch to perform a double-double this season with a 17-point, 12-rebound effort against Chicago State on Dec. 9th. She followed with her second double-double in the following game with 11 points and 10 rebounds on Dec. 17 at Charlotte. Junior Tay Ransburg 13 points and 12 rebounds on Jan. 11 against Georgia State for her first double point and rebounding effort as a Lady Monarch. Senior Sherida Triggs had 14 points and 10 boards in the series finale with VCU on Jan. 25th for her first double of the year and 10th of her career.
THE MOST WE'VE SCORED: Old Dominion scored over 80 points in back-to-back games in late January. The 84 points collected in last Thursday's victory over Virginia Commonwealth were the most scored by the team this season, surpassing the previous high of 83 points collected in the previous Sunday's win at Drexel. The Lady Monarchs have reached the 80-point three times this season. They first collected 80 points in an 81-70 CAA opening win at Virginia Commonwealth back on January 4th.
DISH IT TO ME: Sophomore Jazzmin Walters continues to grow in her role as the Lady Monarchs starting point guard. The second year Lady Monarch dished out eight assists, tying both her career and season-high while committing only one turnover against Virginia Commonwealth on January 25th. Additionally she tied her season and career high with four steals. Walters needs five more assists to crack the top 10 sophomore assist leaders list. She currently has 74.
1. Ticha Penicheiro - 226 - 1995-96
2. Nancy Lieberman - 220 - 1977-78
3. Rhonda Rompola - 151- 1979-80
4. Medina Dixon- 146 - 1982-83
5. Sharron Francis - 127 - 1999-00
6. Alli Spence- 121 - 2000-01
7. Deanna Vander Plas - 92 - 1991-92
8. Marie Christian - 89- 1984-85
9. Mery Andrade- 87 - 1995-96
10. Amanda Levens - 79 - 1998-99
Jazzmin Walters - 74 - 2006-07
COLONIAL DOMINANCE: Old Dominion has captured 15-straight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles since joining the league from the Sun Belt Conference during the 1991-92 season. The Lady Monarchs are in the NCAA record books for capturing the most consecutive conference championships. In league play, Old Dominion holds a 279-15 overall record, which includes eights seasons of undefeated play. The Lady Monarchs hold a 148-2 record at home and a 131-13 road record. Only two CAA losses have occurred on Old Dominion's homecourt. The first was back at the ODU Fieldhouse, the former Lady Monarch homecourt from 1969-2002, against Richmond, now of the Atlantic-10, with a 70-74 defeat on February 19, 1992 and the second versus Delaware with a 70-73 setback on January 9, 2005. Five schools in the league have yet to beat the Lady Monarchs - Georgia State (3-0), George Mason (40-0), Northeastern (2-0), UNC-Wilmington (33-0), and Towson (9-0).
NEXT HOME GAME - PINK OUT: Next time the Lady Monarchs are home on February 11th taking on league rival Delaware in a television game, it will mark the annual HOOPS FOR A CURE game. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to "PINK OUT" the Ted Constant Convocation Center. For more information, click on the ODU Pink Ribbon on the women's basketball homepage.
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs have two more games in their three-game road swing. Old Dominion heads to Hofstra on Sunday, February 4th to close out the season series with the Pride and then heads to Northeastern on Thursday, February 8th. It will be the first trip to the Huskies' home floor of Solomon Court in Boston.