Jan. 2, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team tried to rally from a 10-point second half deficit behind the career-high 24 point night from senior Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.), however the Lady Monarchs would close out the non-conference portion of its schedule at 5-5 following a 79-72 setback at Ole Miss on Friday night.
The first half endured six ties and six lead changes before Old Dominion controlled the later part of the opening stanza. With Ole Miss leading 23-20 with 7:22 left in the half, Old Dominion produced an 11-0 run fueled by six straight points by sophomore guard Jasmine Parker (Norfolk, Va.). Parker capped off the run hitting a four-point play and creating a turnover on the ensuing play to put the ball up and in on a lay-up to give Old Dominion a 33-27 edge with 5:34 remaining in the opening stanza.
The Lady Rebels, however, closed the gap to within two by the half's end. Ole Miss outscored Old Dominion, 12- 6, in the final five minutes of the half, including back-to-back three-pointers by Bianca Thomas and Elizabeth Robertson. Robertson's lone first half points came as she connected from the right side of the arc with 12 seconds left to cut the Lady Monarch lead to 37-35 entering the lockerroom.
Lady Rebel leading scorer Shawn Goff, who played much of the first half in foul trouble having gained her second foul with 15:10 on the clock, finished the half with 14 points going 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line.
Old Dominion held a five-point, 54-49, advantage with 11:36 remaining in the game, however Ole Miss took control of the game for the next five minutes. Thomas drained back-to-back three's cutting Old Dominion's lead to 54-52 with 11:13 remaining. Her second three began a 15-0 run returning the edge back to the Lady Rebels for good. Green finally stopped the run with a pair of free throws followed by ODU's first field goal in nearly five minutes.
The Lady Rebels led by 10 with 5:22 left, but the Lady Monarchs had a late surge to keep the game within reach. A 9-2 run by Old Dominion closed the gap with Green collecting back-to-back lay-ups and senior Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.) connecting on all three of her free throws after getting fouled from beyond the arc.
Walters went to the line again with Ole Miss clinging to a four-point, 75-71 edge with 30 seconds remaining. The 5-2 senior connected on the first attempt of a two-shot award, but missed the second, leaving the Lady Monarchs to foul down the stretch. Thomas would hit four free throws for Ole Miss for the final margin.
Green was one three Lady Monarchs to collect double figures in the loss. In addition to Green's career-high 24 points, sophomore Shadasia Green (Patterson, N.J.) registered a career-high 15 points. Also scoring in double figures was Walters with 15 points.Green also led with a game-high 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
Thomas ended the night leading the Lady Rebels with 20 points, 15 coming in the second half of action. Goff, who played through two fouls in the first half en-route to 14 first half points, netted just four in the second on a field goal and a pair of free throw to finish with 18 points for the Lady Rebel. Black added in 13, while Alliesha Easley netted 10 to round out the Lady Rebels in double figures.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team returns to action on Monday, January 5th opening up Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action against CAA runner-up Virginia Commonwealth. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.