Oct. 25, 2007
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team kicks off the 2007-08 season with the annual Blue-White game on Friday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m. The Lady Monarchs return eight letterwinners from last year's 24-9 squad. Among the returnees include starters in T.J. Jordan, two-time CAA Tournament MVP and three-point record holder, and Tiffany Green, a Preseason All-CAA selection and leading rebounder.
Current and future Lady Monarch Pride members are invited to the first Lady Monarch Pride on Friday as well. The meeting will begin with an opportunity for Pride members (and prospective members) to attend the shoot-around, which will be from 1:00-2:00 p.m. at the Ted. Immediately following the shoot-around, members are invited to attend the pre-game meal with the team. Contact Lady Monarch Pride President Judy Bowman (jbowman@odu.edu) if you plan to attend the pre-game meal.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team knows that in order to bring homethat 17th consecutive Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title they mustwork together as a family. The squad is a mix of veterans and youth withmany of its returning members looking to elevate their game to uphold thelongstanding Lady Monarch tradition.
Those who have been coming off the bench, seniors Tay Ransburg, Megan Pym,and Shahida Williams, juniors Jazzmin Walters and Jen Nuzzo, and sophomoreJessica Canaday, are ready to see more playing time and produce largernumbers to help the Lady Monarchs to victory.
The Lady Monarchs will also add six newcomers to the mix including redshirtfreshman Vicki Collier along with Sierra Little, Alena Voronia, ShadasiaGreen, and Jasmine Parker, as well as junior college transfer Dawn Coleman.
The Guards:
Senior T.J. Jordan has already rewritten much of the Old Dominionthree-point record books and returns as the Lady Monarchs' top returningscorer. Jordan enters the season 22nd on the all-time scoring list and the only three-point record left for her to break is career three-pointers,needing only 10 more shots from downtown to swish through the net. Sincebecoming a regular member of the starting line-up her sophomore season,Jordan has averaged 13.9 points per game, including last season's averageof 14.5 points per contest. A fiery competitor who leaves her heart on thefloor, Jordan has been named the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Playerfor two consecutive seasons.
Junior Jazzmin Walters may be small in size, but can be big trouble foropponents on the court. Walters ranked 14th in the conference in assistsand assist/turnover ratio and ranked 12th among league members in stealsper game. As a sophomore last season she led the team in assists andfinished seventh on the all-time ODU sophomore assists leaders list.Defensively, Walters disrupts the flow of the opposition.
Jen Nuzzo returned to the line-up last season healthy and was a steadycontributor from off the bench. As a back-up point guard, she averaged 2.1points, which included a season-high nine against conference rival Drexel.Nuzzo is consistently one of the hardest working Lady Monarchs in the gym.
There are also plenty of new faces at guard. Fans will have to wait a little longer to see Vicki Collier take the court donning the blue and silver. Collier, who suffered a dislocated patella on her right knee will be on the sidelines until the new year. She does however already have the Lady Monarch system down and is eager to contribute right away. Scholastically, she scored over 1,000 career points and nearly grabbed 1,000 career boards.
Also adding to the mix will be Dawn Coleman, a junior college transfer fromMonroe Community College. Coleman is no stranger to what it takes to bringhome championships. During her career with the Lady Tribunes, she helpedthe squad capture their third straight national title and fourth over thecourse of six seasons. Last season she averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds,and 2.0 steals per game as she was named to the Western New York AthleticConference All-Tournament Team.
Shadasia Green and Jasmine Parker are two rookies adding to this year'sbunch. Green is another newcomer who knows about winning championships.The two-time Herald News Player of the Year led Eastside High School to itssixth consecutive Passaic County Tournament title averaging 21 points andfive rebounds. Green is also a three-time all-area and all-countyselection and was named the Passaic County Tournament MVP. Parker is alocal product from nearby Granby High School where she was a two-timeEastern District Player of the Year. Parker averaged 19.3 points, fivesteals, and six assists as a senior.
The Posts:
By the end of the season last year, fans got to see Tiffany Green back inher All-CAA rookie form. Coming off a fractured foot in 2005-06, Greenworked hard to get back into condition and by the end of the year led OldDominion in rebounding and double-doubles and was third on the squad inscoring. Green moved back into the starting rotation for 11 of the final12 games last season including the CAA and NCAA Tournaments. She cappedoff the season with two of her higher scoring games by leading ODU with 16points in the CAA championship game against James Madison and 17 points inthe NCAA First Round versus Florida State.
Pym is also one of the hardest working members of the team both on and offthe court. Averaging 2.8 points and 3.0 rebounds last season, her stats donot measure the little things she does to help the Lady Monarchs. Pym canalways be seen diving or jumping into the sidelines for the loose ball,pumping her teammates up during a run, or providing a defensive presence inthe paint.
Ransburg made her Lady Monarch debut last season averaging 7.6 points and5.3 rebounds per game. Her shot blocking prowess followed her from Kansasas she ranked fifth in the league in the category. Ransburg is still awaiting a decision from the NCAA regarding her sixth year of eligibility.
Canady made her Old Dominion debut by averaging 2.9 points and 2.0reboundsper game. With a year under her belt, including minutes against some ofthe best teams in the nation, her numbers should increase.
Sierra Little and Alena Voronina will be welcomed to the Lady Monarchfamily this season. Both played AAU ball together with the Lady Phoenixposting a 55-3 mark, which included capturing a title in the Boo WilliamsTournament in the summer of 2006. Little considered one of the topprospects out of North Carolina, averaged 13 points and eight rebounds as asenior at Dudley High School in Greensboro. During her career, Littlehelped her team to two 3-A Eastern Regional state semifinals games andearned two all-conference selections as well as a nod to the All-EasternRegional team as a senior. Voronina, a two-time all-conference pick,helped her Forsyth Country Day team to a 32-8 mark as she led the NCISAAPiedmont League in rebounds, steals, and blocked shots, and ranked third inpoints.
The Schedule:
Another challenging schedule awaits the Old Dominion women's basketballteam in 2007-08. It could perhaps be the most difficult schedule in LadyMonarch history as the team prepares to battle 10 teams that advanced tolast year's NCAA Tournament, including national champion Tennessee andperennial powerhouse Connecticut, along with three WNIT participants.
"Murderer's row," commented Larry upon looking over her upcoming slate."We will be well tested come conference time."
The regular season kicks off against Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders,who reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, will be the first offive non-conference opponents to come to the Ted Constant ConvocationCenter and serve as the Lady Monarchs' opponent for homecoming.Other opponents setting foot inside the Constant Center include Charlotte,Penn State, Michigan State, and Delaware State. The Lady Monarchs hostthe 49ers, who reached the second round of the WNIT, after traveling thelast two seasons to Charlotte. It will be ODU's first-ever meeting withMichigan State, who reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament fallingto national runner-up Rutgers. The Lady Lions and Lady Monarchs meet forthe seventh straight season, while the DSU Hornets, another NCAA Tournamentparticipant and conference champion, come to Norfolk for the secondstraight year.
Also included on this year's schedule is the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jamat the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas over Thanksgivingweekend. Old Dominion will participate in a bracket that features some ofthe top teams in the nation. Included in the Lady Monarchs' "IslandDivision" of the St. Thomas bracket are games with Connecticut andStanford. Old Dominion has not seen the Huskies since their Elite Eightappearance in 2002 and will match-up with the Cardinal for the first timesince the magical run to the national championship game in 1997. A thirdgame is slated for the Virgin Islands trip against a team featured on theother side of the bracket in the "Reef Division". The Lady Monarchs willtake on either Duke, Purdue, or Temple. Other road trips this seasoninclude dates with East Carolina, the annual meeting with Tennessee,Kentucky, and Vanderbilt. East Carolina and Vanderbilt, along withTennessee, all had post-season action in March. The Pirates won theConference-USA title a season ago and advanced to the NCAA Tournament forthe first time since the inaugural tournament in 1982, while the Commodoresreached the second round.
CAA action gets under way right after the New Year with the Lady Monarchstraveling to Georgia State. The conference is coming off its mostsuccessful season in history with four teams making postseason play withthree NCAA bound (ODU, James Madison, & Delaware) and Hofstra advancing tothe Elite Eight of the WNIT. All four teams made regular appearances inthe national polls last season. The CAA will return six of last season'stop 10 scorers, six of the top 10 rebounders, seven of the top 11 assistleaders, and four of the top five leaders in steals. CAA teams will alsowelcome back 67 percent of their starters from a year ago, including sevenstudent-athletes who earned all-conference honors.
Other conference road games include UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary,Northeastern, Delaware, George Mason, Towson, Virginia Commonwealth, andJames Madison.
There will be nine CAA games coming to the Constant Center this winter,where the Lady Monarchs hold a 50-1 all-time record against leagueopponents since the building opened in the fall of 2002. CAA runner-upJames Madison will be the first conference opponent of the new season withthe schedule also including Virginia Commonwealth, Georgia State,UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary in the annual "Hoops For A Cure" game,Northeastern, Drexel, George Mason, and the regular season coming to aclose on Senior Day against Hofstra.
Be sure to join the bunch this season.