Feb. 24, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. -- Everytime the Drexel Dragons made a run, the No. 10/12 Old Dominion women's basketball team had an answer. The Lady Monarchs emerged with a 66-51 win over the third-place Dragons Sunday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center to win their 18th straight contest and 22nd consecutive home game.
The win improved Old Dominion to 24-3 overall as they remain perfect in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) at 15-0. Drexel, meanwhile, had its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 15-11 overall and 10-5 in league action.
Junior Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) led the Lady Monarchs with 12 points as one of three in double figures. Both seniors Megan Pym (Newfield, N.Y.) and T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) notched 10 apiece. Pym also set a new career steal mark with seven.
Jordan, who went 3-of-6 from downtown, tied the CAA record for career three-pointers made with her third and final three at the 2:59 mark of the second half. The senior guard tied Julie Jones (Richmond - 1988-92) for the record with 309 career treys under her belt.
Drexel's Gabriela Marginean led all scorers with 20 points, leaving her just five points shy of cracking the 1,000 career point mark. Three-point threat Narissa Suber was held to only one three, but it was the one that gave the senior Dragon her 300th career trey. Suber, Jordan, and Jones are the only members of the CAA to reach the 300 career three-point field goal mark.
The Lady Monarchs raced out to a 20-4 lead halfway through the first half, but the Dragons managed to cut its 16-point deficit down to single digits with the opening stanza coming to a close. Four straight free throws, two by Anora Suber and two by Marginean, cut the Old Dominion advantage down to eight, 27-19, with 1:32 left until the intermission. The Lady Monarchs would enter the locker room up by 10, 29-19, as Pym hit her only two attempts from the charity stripe.
Drexel capitalized on early Old Dominion turnovers out of the gate in the second half managed to pull to within six points two minutes in. Although the Lady Monarchs did manage to breifly go back up by double digits, Drexel once again made it a close game. Jasmina Rossell connected on two free throws for the Dragons as Old Dominion held on to a five-point, 37-32, edge with 11 minutes left.
"I think when you start looking at the difference in the game, taking care of the ball was crucial," said Old Dominion head coach Wendy Larry. "They were scoring a lot of points off turnovers, so you have to take care of the ball. You also have to stop from putting them at the stripe because they are excellent free throw shooters."
Checking in following Rossell's second shot from the line, junior Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.) hit a quick three sparking a 9-0 Lady Monarch run to return a double digit lead back the Lady Monarchs.
"I knew we needed a spark," said Walters, "something to get us going. I got the ball and didn't hesitate to shoot it."
However Drexel countered with a 9-0 run of their own giving Old Dominion another five-point advantage, 46-41, this time with 7:22 left in the game.
Green began Old Dominion's counterpunch as Walters found the junior forward wide open for one of her 11 assists on the afternoon.
"Being that they were playing zone a lot of things were opening up for us," added Walters. "We had to get in the seams and get in the gaps to find the open person. I got a lot of my assists in transition and pushing the ball."
The Lady Monarchs began what would be a 9-2 run, giving Old Dominion a double figure edge the rest of the way. Down the stretch, the Lady Monarchs led by as many as 19.
The No. 10/12 Old Dominion women's basketball team has just three more games left in the regular season. Up next are the George Mason Patriots on Thursday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m. A win would clinch the top seed at the upcoming CAA Tournament.