Jan. 25, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team had its 37 game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) home win streak snapped and was handed only its third home CAA loss in history with a 72-67 loss to James Madison Sunday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The Dukes' Dawn Evans, who leads the nation in scoring, ignited for 36 points. Old Dominion, meanwhile, shot only 18 percent in the second half and went just 25-of-40 from the free throw line.
The loss was only the Lady Monarch's third ever conference loss on its homecourt having suffered a 70-74 loss to Richmond on February 19, 1992 and Delaware on January 9, 2005 with a 70-73 setback. Old Dominion drops to 164-3 at home against the CAA and 317-18 all-time.
James Madison picked up its 17th win over the Lady Monarchs, the most victories of any ODU opponent in the CAA.
Old Dominion (11-6, 6-1 CAA) opened the game with a 14-3 advantage limiting the Dukes to just one field goal, a three by Evans, in the opening six minutes of the contest. Junior Jessica Canady started the game on a tear, netting the Lady Monarch's first nine points en-route to her team-high 18 points. James Madison (13-5, 6-1 CAA) fired back using a 17-3 run to take the over the lead it would never relinquish. The Dukes led by six, 29-35, with 2:12 left in the first half, but ODU managed to cut it to a one point ball game at the buzzer trailing, 34-35, heading into halftime.
The second half saw Old Dominion shoot only 18 percent from the floor and a mere 19-of-33 from the foul line. The Lady Monarchs, who were missing starting point guard Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.) with a leg injury for a majority of the half, trailed by two, 54-56, with 4:57 left. As Old Dominion fouled down the stretch to keep the game within reach, the Dukes excelled from the line going 12-of-15 in the game's final five minutes. Despite the Lady Monarchs not committing a turnover during the span, the squad couldn't find its way into the basket. While ODU got the looks, the Lady Monarchs missed nine of their shots.
Evan's 36 points were the most by a women's basketball opponent since the Constant Center opened in 2002. Brittany Crowell joined her teammate in double figures with 10.
A trio of Lady Monarchs finished the game in double digits. Along with Canady's 18, freshman Mairi Buchan (Stirlingshire, Scotland) posted a career-high 15 points and senior Jen Nuzzo (Newport News, Va,) tied her career-mark with 14.
Senior Tiffany Green (Chesapeake,Va.), who entered the game with four consecutive double-doubles went 0-for-6, collecting all six of her points from the charity stripe. Green did haul in 14 boards as the Lady Monarchs were outrebounded by five, 45-40.
The Old Dominion women's basketball returns to the road for its next two games. First up is Georgia State on Thursday, January 29th at 6:00 p.m.