Feb. 20, 2008
Virginia Commonwealth Game Notes in PDF Format
ABOUT THE LADY MONARCHS:The No. 10/12 Lady Monarchs are winners in their last 16 contests and in 19 of their last 20 games. Old Dominion is coming off an 73-61 victory in its lone meeting this season with Towson where senior Megan Pym collected her third career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Lady Monarchs vaulted three positions in the Associated Press Poll to No. 10 while jumping two spots in the ESPN/USA Today. Senior T.J. Jordan continues to lead the squad at 14.0 points per game and is followed by sophomore Jessica Canady, who comes off the bench to average 11.0 points per contest. Junior Tiffany Green rounds out the trio of Lady Monarchs in double figures at 10.4 points per game. Pym continues leads the Lady Monarchs on the glass at 7.6 rebounds per game.
ABOUT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH:The Rams enter Thursday's game in a tied for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association, along with the Drexel Dragons. Virginia Commonwealth stands at 19-4 overall and 9-4 in the league coming off a 76-43 win at Georgia State without the services of one its leading scorers in Quanitra Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, a product from nearby Chesapeake, Virginia, is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery last Saturday for an Achilles injury, which she sustained in Feb. 14th's game against UNC-Wilmington. Hollingsworth, Virginia Commonwealth's all-time leader in double-doubles, was averaging 13.3 points per game and a team-leading 9.4 rebounders per contest. The Rams are led by senior guard Krystal Vaughn at 14.5 points per game. Vaughn also sits behind Hollingsworth in the rebounding column at 5.9 boards per game. Sophomore guard Kita Waller is also averaging double figures at 10.0 points per game.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - VCU
74.4 - Scoring - 65.9
.438 - Field Goal Percentage - .415
.358 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .333
.639 - Free Throw Percentage - .665
42.4 - Rebounds Per Game - 39.5
16.6 - Assists Per Game - 15.6
18.8 - Turnovers Per Game - 18.8
11.8 - Steals Per Game - 9.7
5.0 - Blocks Per Game - 2.5
SERIES WITHVIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH:The Lady Monarchs hold a 51-8 record in the all-time series with the Rams with Old Dominion winning the last nine outings and 28 of the last 29. The ODU and VCU rivalry dates back to the 1969-70 season where the two teams squared off against each other each season until 1979. The rivalry renewed when VCU joined ODU in the Sun Belt Conference and continued when the Rams joined the CAA for the 1995-96 season. More recently, the Rams snapped a 35-game CAA win streak back on February 6th, 2003 at the Siegel Center. Old Dominion fell, 56-67, in their first CAA loss in nearly two years. Since then, the Lady Monarchs have rattled off nine straight wins over Virginia Commonwealth.
LAST TIME VS.VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH:Old Dominion leading scorer T.J. Jordan may have been held to only one points, but six of her teammates managed to find their way to the basket for double figure scoring in the No. 15/20 Lady Monarchs' 86-66 win over VCU at the Constant Center back on January 17th. The Rams were handed their first conference loss and just their second loss overall. Jessica Canady helped lead the bench to 37 points as she lead all Lady Monarch scorers with 15 points. A trio of Lady Monarchs also notched 12 points. Senior Tiffany Green narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards, Jazzmin Walters added 12 points and eight assists, while Shahida William poured in 12 points and eight rebouneds. VCU's Krystal Vaughn and Quanitra Hollingsworth both scored their 1,000th career points in the loss. Vaughn led all scorers with 21 points, her seventh 20+ point game of the year. She notched with double-double with a game-high 10 boards for her first double figure points and rebound contest of the season. Hollingsworth poured in 17, including 12 second half points. It was neck and neck throughout the early part of the first half with the game tied at 20-20 with 7:26 on the clock. A lay-up by La'Tavia Rorie three plays later gave the Rams a 23-22 edge, but it would be the last lead VCU would see. Green's bucket on the ensuing trip down the court returned the lead to the Lady Monarchs for good as Old Dominion closed out the opening frame outscoring the Rams, 17-5, for a 35-28 advantage at the intermission. Just as they did against James Madison in the previous game, ODU had an explosive second half, racking up 51 points. Out of the lockerroom, the Lady Monarchs put up 16 points in four mintues while holding VCU to only two field goals. The 16-4 run was capped by a three-pointer by Canady at the top of the arc, the second straight game the sophomore forward has connected from downtown. Old Dominion held as much as a 24-point lead with five minutes remaining in the game. The Rams managed to cut their deficit to 15 with 2:37.
CAA STREAK:Old Dominion has won its last 24 straight CAA contests. The Lady Monarchs last loss in league play was a 79-50 against James Madison in Harrisonburg on February 1, 2007.
UNDEFEATED - AT HOME:Old Dominion is currently 11-0 at home and finished non-conference play at 5-0 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
HOME COURT STREAK:The Lady Monarchs have won a nation-leading 21 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 32 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.
HELLO TOP 10 - AP:The Lady Monarchs have returns to the Top Ten of the Associated Press Poll for the first time since the end of the 1999 season. Old Dominion, who started the season unranked, returned to the Top 25 in the AP for week four following their upset victory over Michigan State on December 2. Old Dominion was ranked at No. 24 and made its first appearance in the AP Poll since the final poll of the 2002 season when the Lady Monarchs finished 15th and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
HELLO TOP 25 - ESPN/USA TODAY:The Lady Monarchs cracked the Top 25 of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll during week seven coming at No. 23 following SEC road wins at Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It is the Lady Monarchs first appearance in the Coaches' Poll since the second week of the 2002-03 season. This week, the Lady Monarchs jumped two positions to No. 12.
WHAT'S REMAINING:Five games are left in the Lady Monarchs' regular season. Three games are against the top three in the CAA with Old Dominion meeting with Virginia Commonwealth (third), Drexel (third), and James Madison (second) before heading off to the Bob Carpenter Center for the 2008 CAA Women's Basketball Tournament in search of conference title number 17.
ANOTHER THREE POINT RECORD:T.J. Jordan grows ever closer to becoming the CAA's all-time three-point shooter. Jordan connected on 4-of-6 from the arc against Northeastern in the Lady Monarchs' 83-46 win to bring her career three-point field goal total to 303, six shy of tying the league record. The CAA three-point record is currently 309 held by Julie Jones from former CAA member Richmond (1998-92).
CRACKING A TOP TEN: Junior Jazzmin Walters cracked the the top ten junior assist list at Old Dominion on February 7th in the Lady Monarchs' 71-61 win at George Mason. Walters, who entered the game needing two assists to crack the list, dished out six assists against the Patriots and vaulted immediately into seventh place. Walters now stands at sixth on the list with 122 assists to her name in the 2007-08 season.
PASSING A LEGEND:Senior T.J. Jordan has moved up six spots on the ODU all-time scoring list since the beginning of the season. Jordan has already surpassed current WNBA Sacramento Monarch Ticha Penicherio and two-time CAA Player of the Year and 2002 WNBA draftee Lucienne Berthieu on the all-time list. Jordan currently has 1,416 career points and sits in 16th on the all-time list.
HOW FAST TO 20: With an 83-68 win over William & Mary on February 10th, the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs collected their 20th win of the season and became one of the fastest Lady Monarch teams to 20 wins in a season.
UP NEXT: The No. 10/12 Old Dominion women's basketball team returns home to host third-place Drexel on Big Blue's Birthday on Sunday, February 24th.