March 12, 2010
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HARRISONBURG, Va. - The top-seeded Lady Monarchs (17-12) used an early second-half run to breeze past the #8 Northeastern Huskies (13-18) in the 2010 Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals today, winning 68-49. Old Dominion advances to play #5 Delaware in Saturday's Semifinal game, with tip set for Noon. Delaware outlasted #4 Drexel in overtime on Friday, 67-61.
Senior Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) and junior Jasmine Parker (Norfolk, Va.) finished in double figures for Old Dominion, while the Lady Monarchs tied a season-high in steals with 15 as a team.
ODU raced out to a quick double-digit lead, opening the game on a 13-2 run in the first 5:11. The Lady Monarchs had five steals and forced six turnovers in the run, getting six points off of turnovers. Senior Jessica Canady led the way with six points early, and would help extend the lead to 16, 18-2, with a three-pointer from Mairi Buchan at the 12 minute mark.
Rachel Pecota finally stopped the run for Northeastern with a layup at the 11:42 mark after ODU had extended the lead to 16. She would knock down a three from the top of the key to cap a modest 5-0 run to get back within 11, 18-7 with just over ten minutes remaining.
After Old Dominion built the lead to a game-high 21 points, the Huskies answered with a 12-0 run behind leading scorer Brittany Wilson, knocking down four straight free-throws and a mid-range jumper to get back with single digits, 28-19 with 3:02 remaining. Canady would stop the run with a shot from the elbow with just over two minutes remaining, but Northeastern added four more to cut the lead to seven at the break, 30-23.
After turning the ball over nine times in the first 11 minutes, the Huskies gave it away just five more times in the first half, helping cut the early lead at intermission. Wilson scored all 10 of herpoints in the final 5:29 of the half, including 10 of the Huskies' last 13 points in the first period.
Out of the break, Northeastern would score four of the first seven to get back within six, but ODU would run off 14 unanswered to take another 20-point lead, 48-28. A pair of Mia Mayberry free-throws would get Northeastern back on the board, but ODU's Second Team All-CAA guard Jasmine Parker would continue to power ODU in the second half. Parker scored 10 of the first 20 points in the half, knocking down a pair of long three's in the process.
This time around, the Lady Monarchs would not relinquish the lead, allowing the Huskies to get no closer than 16 the rest of the way. ODU shot 45.7% from the field in the second half, knocking down 16 of 35 shots taken. Old Dominion finished with 19 points off turnovers in the game, forcing 22 giveaways by the Huskies.
Play was stopped for approximately 15 minutes early in the second half after Northeastern guard Brittany Wilson suffered an injury on a hustle play near the baseline. The sophomore guard finished as the team-leader in points with 10, adding three rebounds in her 17 minutes of play.
Old Dominion was led by senior Jessica Canady, scoring 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. She hauled in a game-high seven rebounds and added three steals, a block and an assist. Parker added 10 as the only other Lady Monarch in double figures, all coming in the second half. She also grabbed six rebounds, dished four assists and finished as the catalyst on defense with four steals.
The ODU front court had a great game, as starting center Tia Lewis added nine points, seven rebounds three assists and three steals and sophomore forward Mairi Buchan added eight points and four rebounds off the bench. Eight Lady Monarchs scored five points or more in the game.
Old Dominion will return to action tomorrow in the CAA Tournament Semifinals, as they will face #5 Delaware. Tip for the Semifinal is set for Noon at the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg. Old Dominion swept the two regular season matchups against the Fightin' Blue Hens, by a combined three points.