Feb. 8, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. -- Old Dominion closed out the season series with UNC-Wilmington on Sunday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation with a 66-46 win over the Seahawks.
Senior Jen Nuzzo (Newport News, Va.) dished out a career-high eight assists and was one of three Lady Monarchs in double figures with 13 points.
The win gave Old Dominion its second straight after ending its three-game CAA skid, improving the Lady Monarchs to 13-8 overall and 8-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). UNC-Wilmington meanwhile falls to 10-12 overall and 4-7 in the conference in its third straight setback.
The ODU defense held the Seahawks to its lowest field goal percentage of the season at 28 percent. UNC-Wilmington hit only 14 of its 50 attempts from the floor. The Seahawk bench was only able to net six of its team's 46 points.
With the game tied at 12-12 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the opening half, Old Dominion outscored the Seahawks 20-8 to enter halftime up, 32-20. Freshman Mairi Buchan (Stirlingshire, England) hit a pair of three's during the stretch, including a trey that gave the Lady Monarchs it largest lead of the half, a 13-point 20-17 advantage with just over two minutes left.
UNC-Wilmington reduced its deficit to eight with the first two buckets of the second half, but senior Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.) muscled her way into the paint to return a double digit lead to Old Dominion for good.
Buchan, who gave Old Dominion its largest lead of the first half, also gave the Lady Monarchs its largest lead of the second half. On her third three-pointer of the afternoon, the Scottish native gave her squad a 24-point edge, 62-38, with 4:07 left in the game. Buchan, who entered the game shooting only 16 percent from three-point range, finished the game 3-of-3 from behind the arc.
Green poured in a game-high 15 points to lead the Lady Monarchs, with Nuzzo contributing 13, and sophomore Sierra Little (Greensboro, N.C.) coming off the bench to collect 11 points.
Junior Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) continues to be a rebounding machine hauling in double figure boards for the third straight game despite a thumb injury. Canady collected 15 in Sunday's victory over the Seahawks as Old Dominion outrebounded UNC-Wilmington, 44-32.
The Seahawks had a pair in double figures in the loss. Greta Luksyte had 12 points, while Martha White collected 10.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team goes on the road in three of its next four games. The Lady Monarchs travel to Drexel on Thursday, February 12th for its lone meeting with the Dragons and return home on Sunday, February 15th for the annual HOOPS FOR A CURE game.