Jan. 19, 2008
William & Mary Game Notes in PDF Format
ABOUT THE LADY MONARCHS:The No. 15/20 Lady Monarchs are winners in their last seven contests and in ten of their last eleven games and are about to embark on a three-game road swing beginning with Sunday's game at Kaplan Arena against the Tribe of the College of William & Mary. Old Dominion is coming off an 86-66 win over Virginia Commonwealth to hand the Rams not only their first CAA loss, but just their second loss overall. Although leading scorer T.J. Jordan has held to just one points, there were six different Lady Monarchs in double figurers led by sophomore Jessica Canady from off the bench with 15. The ODU bench accounted for 37 of the Lady Monarchs' 86 points, while 41 of those 86 points where also collected in the paint. Senior T.J. Jordan continues to lead the squad at 15.4 points per game, followed by sophomore Jessica Canady at 10.4 points per contest. Senior Megan Pym leads the Lady Monarchs on the battle of the boards at 7.4 rebounds per game.
ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY:Picked third in the preseason poll and having returned four of five starters, William & Mary currently stands in sixth place at 8-8 overall and 2-2 in league action. In conference action, the Tribe finished at 6-6 which included a 75-44 loss against commom ODU non-conference opponent Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. After opening the CAA portion of its schedule with losses against Towson and Virginia Commonwealth, the Tribe have won their last two contests with a 61-57 win over Delaware and a 75-57 victory at Georgia State. Senior forward Kyra Kaylor leads a trio of Tribe players in double figure averages. Kaylor is pouring in 14.9 points along with a team-leading 8.5 boards per game. Senior guard/forward Devin James checks into the game as the Tribe's second leading scorer at 12.1 points per contest, while junior guard Courtney Portell rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.1 points a game.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - W&M
72.2 - Scoring - 65.3
.417 - Field Goal Percentage - .392
.371 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .351
.620 - Free Throw Percentage - .613
41.5 - Rebounds Per Game - 38.9
15.3 - Assists Per Game - 11.8
19.6 - Turnovers Per Game - 19.8
12.1 - Steals Per Game - 11.7
4.6 - Blocks Per Game - 3.6
SERIES WITH WILLIAM & MARY:Old Dominion leads the all-time series 44-3. The Tribe has not defeated the Lady Monarchs in 31 years with William & Mary's last victory over Old Dominion coming back in the 1975-76 season with an 89-53 win. Since then the Lady Monarchs have been winners of the last 42 contests.
LAST TIME VS. WILLIAM & MARY:The Tribe of the College of William & Mary were looking for its first win over the Old Dominion women's basketball team since 1976, but Tiffany Green would not allow it back on February 18, 2007. She iced two free throws with 11 seconds left in the game to give the Lady Monarchs not only it first lead, but the lead for good, with 11 seconds remaining in a 56-52 victory at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe opened the game on a 9-0 run and led by as much as 13 in the first en-route to a 40-35 halftime advantage. The second half had the Lady Monarchs clawing their way to the lead. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Kyra Kaylor nailed a three to give William & Mary a five-point, 49-44, lead with 9:39 left in the ball game. It would be nearly another three minutes before either team would find the cup. Shahida Williams grabbed her own missed shot and put the ball up and in and hit one of two free throws two minutes later to cut the Lady Monarch deficit to two, 49-47, with 4:21 remaining. William & Mary had immediate answer as Devin James caught a touchdown pass for an uncontested lay-up to put the Tribe up for four just moments later. Old Dominion then cut the William & Mary lead to one. Jazzmin Walters went to the line going 1-of-2 and managed to steal the ball on the ensuing Tribe possession to find Megan Pym for the open jumper. The Lady Monarchs trailed just 51-50 with 2:34 left. James then went to the line for the Tribe where she had been 5-for-5. James made the first basket, but missed the second. Tish Lyons grabbed the rebound and promptly fouled. The fourth year Lady Monarchs went to the charity stripe, hitting both of her shots, and tied the game at 52-52 with 1:15 left in the game. Kaylor had a chance to put the Tribe ahead but missed a lay-up amid the Lady Monarch defense. Shantel Wilson was fouled putting her at the line with just 16 seconds remaining. Wilson missed both shots, but the rebound on her second miss went to the Lady Monarchs. Green was fouled putting her at the line for a chance at the lead with just 11 seconds on the clock. Green entered the game shooting just 48.4 percent from the charity stripe, but made both attempts for a 54-52 Old Dominion lead. Green has now made her last nine free throws. Kaylor had one last shot for the Tribe, but missed, forcing William & Mary to foul. Walters went to the line to seal the win with two free throws. Lyons and Tay Ransburg led the Lady Monarchs with 10 points a piece. Lyons went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw lines. Ransburg along with Wilson led Old Dominion on the boards with seven.
UNDEFEATED - AT HOME:Old Dominion is currently 7-0 at home and finished non-conference play at 5-0 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
HOME COURT STREAK:The Lady Monarchs have won 18 straight home contests dating back to the Dec. 20, 2006, 72-55, victory over national runner-up Rutgers. ODU's last loss at the Ted Constant Convocation Center was against national champion Tennessee, 59-75, back on Dec. 22, 2006.
CAA HOME COURT STREAK: The Lady Monarchs have won 28 straight home CAA contests dating back to the January 14, 2005, 78-59, victory over Virginia Commonwealth. ODU's last conference loss at the Ted Constant Convocation Center was against Delaware, 70-73, on January 9, 2005. Old Dominion holds a 153-2 home CAA mark.
WHAT A RUN: It may have been James Madison ahead at the half by two, in the first meeting with the Dukes on January 13th, but an electrifying second half that included a 26-0 run by the Lady Monarchs helped spark the Lady Monarchs to a 82-57 win. Old Dominion outscored James Madison, 49-22, in the second half.
IT'S NOT THE SIZE OF THE DOG IN THE FIGHT; IT'S THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE DOG:Just because junior Jazzmin Walters is 5-2, doesn't mean she can't hang with the tall girls. While nine members of the Vanderbilt women's basketball team are 5-11 or taller, it was five-foot-two Jazzmin Walter's who was the game's leading rebounder in ODU's match-up with the then No. 21/20 Commodores. Walters hauled in a career-high seven boards as Old Dominion outrebounded Vanderbilt, 40-29. Walters repeated her career rebounding performance against Virginia Commonwealth on January 17th, which included six defensive rebounds against a squad that had eight members at 5-10 or taller.
PASSING A LEGEND:Senior T.J. Jordan has moved up three spots on the ODU all-time scoring list since the beginning of the season. With her game-high 18 points against James Madison in the first meeting with the Dukes, she surpassed a Lady Monarch legend. Jordan surpassed current WNBA Sacramento Monarch Ticha Penicherio for 19th on the all-time list. Jordan currently has 1,310 career points.
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs better pack their mittens. The No. 15/20 Old Dominion women's basketball team treks up to Boston on Thursday, January 24th to meet the Northeastern Huskies. Game-time is slated for 7:00 p.m. The road trip continues on Sunday, January 27, in Newark, Delaware against the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. Tip-off is at 2:30 p.m. with the game being televised on Comcast SportsNet (Channel 35 - Hampton Roads).