Nov. 25, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Game 4
Wednesday, November 26th - 6:30 p.m. (EST)
Jack Breslin Student Events Center - East Lansing, Michigan
#23/24 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (3-1, 0-0 CAA) vs.
#25/RV Michigan State Spartans (5-0, 0-0 BIG 10)
TV: Big Ten Network (Mark Neely - play-by-play, Stephanie White - color, Lisa Byington - sideline)
Radio: WXEZ - 94.1 FM, WGAI-560 AM (Tony Mercurio - Play-by-Play)
Audio: Monarch All-Access
Video: None
Livestats: Gametracker
LADY MONARCH MOMENTS:
Old Dominion is coming off a 78-70 upset win over #16/11 Virginia Friday night in a game that pitted the two squads from the thrilling Second Round NCAA Tournament overtime game that send the Lady Monarchs to the "Sweet 16" last season.
Jazzmin Walters notched a career-high with 24 points going 6-of-10 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the floor.
The victory extended ODU's home win streak to 27 games, the second longest active streak in the country.
Old Dominion will travel to Michigan State for the first time in school history. Last season the Lady Monarchs upset the #20/19 Spartans 79-73 in their only other meeting back on Dec. 2, 2007.
With the Spartans entering the polls this week, Michigan State will become the third straight ranked squad and fifth overall Top 25 team the Lady Monarchs will face this season.
Wednesday's game will be televised by the BIG TEN Network with Mark Neely on play-by-play, WNBA Chicago Sky assistant and member of the 1999 Purdue championship team, Stephanie White, on color, and Lisa Byington on sideline.
Following the trip to East Lansing, Old Dominion will close out 2008 with four straight home games - Norfolk State, St. Joseph's , Maryland, and Tennessee.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - MSU
71.2 - Scoring - 83.0
.397 - Field Goal Percentage - .512
.293 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .384
.698 - Free Throw Percentage - .664
44.2 - Rebounds Per Game - 47.8
13.5 - Assists Per Game - 19.2
20.5 - Turnovers Per Game - 23.6
10.5 - Steals Per Game - 10.4
6.3 - Blocks Per Game - 7.4
ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE:
The Spartans enter Wednesday's contest with a perfect 5-0 mark and are coming off taking home the TD Banknorth Classic title with a 81-48 victory over Quinnipiac. Last season, Michigan State reached the WNIT Championship game falling 81-66 to Marquette. Ten letterwinners and all five starters from that squad that finished 23-14 overall return. The Spartans have a trio averaging double figures led by redshirt junior forward Aisha Jefferson at 13.6 points per game. Also among the returnees is 6-9 junior Allyssa DeHaan. DeHann scored 21 points against Quinnipiac to become the 19th Spartan to reach the 1,000 career point mark. She is averaging 11.8 points and a team-leading 5-4 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Kalisha Keane rounds out the double figure scoring Spartans at 11.2 points per contest.
SERIES WITH MICHIGAN STATE:
Wednesday will mark the second meeting between Old Dominion and Michigan State. The Lady Monarchs won the only other contest between the squads handing the #20/19 Spartans a 79-73 loss in a upset at the Ted Constant Convocation Center last December 2nd.
LAST TIME VS. MICHIGAN STATE:
The Old Dominion women's basketball team made it three in-a-row against the BIG 10 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center with a 79-73 victory over the #20/19 Michigan State Spartans on December 2nd, 2007. Old Dominion had three in double figures including 20-point efforts by T.J. Jordan and Tiffany Green. Jordan poured in a game-high 24 points while Green added 20. Classmate Megan Pym was the other Lady Monarch in double digits with 10.The Spartans were led by Courtney Davidson, who came off the bench for 17 points. Fourteen of her points were scored in the game's final three minutes. Kalisha Keane added in 15 points along with a game-high nine boards. Leading scorer Allyssa DeHann, who only played eight first half minutes due to foul trouble, contributed 13 points along with eight boards and four blocks. The Spartans led 23-13 with 7:08 left in the opening half when the Lady Monarchs made its move. Over the next three minutes, Old Dominion outscored Michigan State 11-2 to close the gap to within one. Just under the three minute mark, a Green lay-up tied the game at 27-27. Although the following possession, a Cetera Washington bucket, gave the Spartans the lead back, it would be their final lead of the game. Jordan followed by draining her third three-pointer of the half to give Old Dominion the lead for good. She added in another near the buzzer for the half giving the Lady Monarchs a 35-31 edge heading into the lockerrooms. Old Dominion led by double digits much of the first part of the second half, taking a 12 point lead on three different occasions. However, the Spartans did not go away quietly and managed to whittle down its deficit to two. After a Pym bucket with 12:04 remaining, Michigan State took a 10-0 run over the span of four minutes to trail only 58-56 with 8:41 left. Old Dominion however scored seven unanswered points to start a 14-3 run. The run was capped by a Green lay-up for Old Dominion's largest lead of the game, 72-59, with just under three minutes left in the game. Michigan State's Davidson kept the score close, scoring the final 14 points for her squad. The Spartans totaled 22 turnovers resulting in 27 Lady Monarch points.
THREE-IN-ROW VS. THE BIG TEN IN `07:
Old Dominion made it back-to-back-to-back victories over the BIG TEN last season. The Lady Monarchs returned from a 66-53 upset win over then No. 22/20 Purdue at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, only to return home to see two more BIG TEN squads. Old Dominion then proceeded to down Penn State, 77-49, and upset then No. 19/20 Michigan State, 79-73.
BIG TEN TIE:
Fifth-year assistant coach Nikita Lowery Dawkins was an All-American at Ohio State. Playing from 1985-89, she led the Buckeyes to four NCAA Tournament appearances and three BIG TEN titles.
MOVING UP THE SCORING LEADERS LIST:
Senior Tiffany Green currently stands 24th on the all-time scoring leaders list. She needs 16 more points to surpass Sharron Francis (1998-2002) to move into 23rd on the list.
MOVING UP THE ASSIST LEADERS LIST:
Senior Jazzmin Walters needs only two more assists to crack the top 10 all-time assist leaders list. To date, Walters has dished out the ball 358 times during her career.
DEMITA LEAVES TEAM:
Freshman guard Rachel DeMita has left the Old Dominion women's basketball team for personal reasons. The 5-8 guard appeared in one game for the Lady Monarchs this season playing three minutes in the season opener against St. Mary's in the World Vision Classic in Austin.
HOME COURT STREAK:
The Lady Monarchs are second behind Hartford for thee nation's top active home court win streak. Old Dominion has won 27 straight home contests datingback to the Dec. 30, 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. Hartford's streak is currently at 28.
CAVALIER KILLER:
Something about playing the Virginia Cavaliers seems to bring out the best in senior guard Jazzmin Walters. Last season, Walters nailed the game-winning three-point shot against the Cavaliers with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime to send the Lady Monarchs to the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 2002. In the rematch last week, Walters collected a career-high 24 points going 6-of-10 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line to help the Lady Monarchs to 78-70 upset victory over #16/11 Virginia.
RANK `EM UP - AP POLL:
The Old Dominion women's basketball team will head into Wednesday's contest having moved up a spot to No. 24 in the Associated Press Poll following a 78-70 victory over Virginia. Five opponents on the 2008-09 Lady Monarch slate are featured in the poll, including defending NCAA champions Tennessee coming in at No. 9 and Maryland, the 2006 NCAA Champions, seated at No. 10. Also in the Top 25 are No. 11 Texas, No. 16 Virginia, and Michigan State, who entered the Top 25 this week at No. 24.