Nov. 26, 2009
Box Score
Box Score in PDF Format
CANCUN, MEXICO -- A pair of unanswered three's from junior Kquanise Byrd (St. Petersburg, Fla.) pulled Old Dominion (0-4) within five with five minutes remaining in the first half, but the undefeated Syracuse Orange (5-0) dominated the second half and beat the Lady Monarchs 65-32.
Neither team shot very well in the first half, with Syracuse knocking down 31 points on 12-36 shooting (33.3%) while Old Dominion went 9-34 for 26.5% in the frame.
Byrd's three-pointers led all scorers for ODU in the first half, with six and adding a block. Sophomore Tia Lewis and junior Shadasia Green had a game-high seven rebounds at the break, but Syracuse still out-rebounded ODU in the first half, 30-22.
In the second half, the Lady Monarchs struggled from the field and scored just 11 points, tying a program-low set in a win at JMU in 1972. ODU sandwiched an early bucket from Lewis that pulled ODU back within 10 in the first minute and a third trey from Byrd with 11 seconds remaining with just two more field goals and a pair of free-throws.
Syracuse opened the second half on a 20-2 run, putting ODU down 51-23 after a Vionca Murray jumper with 13:46 remaining. Nicole Michael led the way in the second have for the 'Cuse, scoring 14 points in the second 20 minutes. She also had a game-high 18 points with eight rebounds. Erica Morrow went 7-for-22 from the field, scoring 16 points with five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Old Dominion got a team-high nine points from Byrd, setting a new career mark at the Division I level, on a trio of three-pointers. Lewis nearly had a double-double, hauling in a season-high 12 rebounds and adding eight points for the Lady Monarchs. Shadasia Green added 10 rebounds, giving her double-digit boards for the first time this season.
For the game, Syracuse shot 40.6% from the field (26-64) while Old Dominion shot just 20.3% (13-64).
The Lady Monarchs will play RV/RV Louisville (2-1) on Saturday at the same time at 8:15 p.m. (EST). Louisville plays Northern Iowa tomorrow night before facing ODU on Saturday. Live stats will be available through odusports.com and fans can tune into ESPN Radion 94.1 FM for play-by-play.