Jan. 29, 2009
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team dropped its second straight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest Thursday night at the GSU Sports Arena with a 75-62 loss to Georgia State.
The Panthers used a 21-5 run over the game's final seven minutes to capture its first ever victory over the Lady Monarchs. Georgia State had been one of five teams still looking to record a victory over Old Dominion having dropped their previous seven meetings since joining the CAA in 2005-06. Old Dominion was ahead, 57-54 with 7:12 remaining, before the Panthers made their run.
Georgia State also took advantage of a season-high 28 turnovers committed by the Lady Monarchs resulting in 36 Georgia State points.
Old Dominion led for a majority of the first half and enjoyed a nine-point, 25-16 edge, with seven minutes left before the intermission. Although Georgia State continued to chip away, the Lady Monarchs ended the half ahead, 32-29.
A three by sophomore Jasmine Parker (Norfolk, Va.) gave the Lady Monarchs its final lead with 7:12 left in the game as Georgia State started its run. Parker's three from the right side of the floor had Old Dominion had 57-54.
On the following play, the Panther's Brittany Hollins hit a three of her own to tie the game at 57 all. Coming out a timeout, Hollins recorded one of her seven takeaways on the evening, returning possession back to Georgia State. Although the Panthers did not convert the bucket, Stacie Young hit one of two free throws to give Georgia State its first lead since the early minutes of the game.
After back-to-back turnovers by each team, Old Dominion gained control of the ball. Senior Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) ended up the charity stripe. She converted her first throw to tie the game at 58-58 with 5:46 in the ninth tie of the half. She missed the second and Hollins grabbed the board resulting in a fast break lay-up by Young on the other end. Young's bucket would give the Panthers the lead for good.
Old Dominion falls to 11-7 overall and 6-2 in the CAA. The loss was the first time the Lady Monarchs have posted back-to-back losses since the 2002-03 season when ODU fell to VCU, James Madison, and Delaware and the first time since the 2004-05 season ODU has fallen in more than one conference contest in a season. Georgia State meanwhile improves to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in league competition.
Green finished the night with a game-high 22 points along with nine rebounds and three steals. Junior Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) shot 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points. Parker recorded 11 points, missing the final minutes of the game with a knee injury. Senior Jen Nuzzo (Newport News, Va.) went 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from downtown to finish with 10 points.
Georgia State had four in double figures led by Crystal Johnson with 21 points. Johnson netted just two points in the first meeting, a 62-46 Lady Monarch victory back on January 18th. Hollins finished the game with 15, while active leading scorer Jylisa Williams added 12 and Chandra Harris contributed 11 points.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team returns to action on Sunday, February 1st in Richmond against Virginia Commonwealth. The Lady Monarchs and Rams tip-off at 2:00 p.m.