Jan. 10, 2010
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NORFOLK, Va. -- Freshman Jackie Cook (Hinckley, Ohio) scored a career-high 14 points and junior Jasmine Parker (Norfolk, Va.) poured in 22, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, as Old Dominion (4-9, 2-1) upended the CAA Pre-season favorites, Drexel University (8-6, 2-1) at home today, 69-59.
The Lady Monarchs victory snapped a 15-game winning streak in the league for the Drexel Dragons, dating back to last season, and ODU avenged their loss last season, handing the 2009 CAA Champs their first loss in conference play this season. Drexel had become the first team in league history to beat ODU in the CAA Tournament last March.
Today, it was a key second half run led by Cook that gave the Lady Monarchs the confidence down the stretch. With 15:38 remaining, Cook heated up, scoring ten of the next twelve Lady Monarch points leading to what was then the biggest lead of the game, 44-37, with 13:18 remaining.
ODU would extend the lead to 12 with 10:10 remaining after a pair of free throws from Carolann Cloutier (Montreal, Quebec) and Alena Voronina (Brisbane, Australia) and a huge three from JoNiquia Guilford (Portsmouth, Va.). The 17-6 run came entirely from ODU's bench, led by Cook's 10 and Guilford's 5 points.
Drexel would answer, however, behind 2010 Preseason Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean. The Dragons feature scorer knocked down six unanswered points, followed by a pair of layups from Ayana Lee. Marginean then tied it up at 49 with 6:21 remaining on her only made three-pointer of the night.
On the next possession, though, ODU would begin what would become a free-throw clinic. Over the final 6:07 seconds, ODU would go to the line 22 times. Led by Parker's tremendous effort, ODU knocked down 20 to seal the victory as Drexel was forced to start shooting tough three's.
Parker's 12-for-12 night at the free-throw line is a new Constant Center record and was the second best individual performance at the charity stripe in ODU history, behind only Nancy Lieberman's 15-for-15 night in 1978. The ODU junior finished with 22 points, just two shy of her career-high, and added five assists, two steals and three rebounds.
The Dragons were led by Marginean, scoring 33 points, her eighth career 30-point performance. The CAA's all-time leading scorer added six rebounds on 12-of-24 shooting. Jasmina Rosseel was also in double figures, with 11 points, but shot just 2-for-12 from the field.
Cook finished with 14 on 5-of-7 shooting for Old Dominion, joining Parker as the Lady Monarch double-figure scorers. The ODU bench was crucial in today's game, as they scored 26 points compared to Drexel's seven from the reserves.
Senior Jessica Canady continues to return to the court strong, hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of play. She also knocked down four clutch free-throws down the stretch to help ODU seal the victory.
ODU remains home this week as they will host George Mason (7-7, 0-3) on Thursday night here at the Constant Center. Tip will be at 7:00 p.m. as Old Dominion takes on the Patriots for the first of two matchups this season.