Jan. 17, 2010
Box Score | Box Score in PDF Format
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- The ODU Lady Monarchs (6-9, 4-1) handed the RV/RV James Madison Dukes (13-3, 3-2) just their third loss of the season and first at home in a big conference win today, 67-58. The win broke a four-game losing streak against the Dukes in Harrisonburg, dating back to the 2005 season and was just the ninth loss for JMU in the Convocation Center in their last 75 games.
Old Dominion used a balanced attack in the first half to head into the locker room with a 15-point lead. Five different players scored five or more and eight Lady Monarchs were on the scoreboard by intermission. Sophomore Jasmine Parker led the way in the torrid first half, scoring five points and hauling in a career-high tying six rebounds.
The Dukes came in one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, but it was the Lady Monarchs that dominated from long-range in the early going. Four different Lady Monarchs knocked down huge 3-pointers in the first half. ODU was dangerous from long-range, going 4-of-6 on trey's in the first 8:24. Mairi Buchan, Carolann Cloutier and Jackie Cook all came off the bench for one while Kquanise Byrd also added one for ODU.
The hot shooting from deep helped ODU get out to a 22-11 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the frame. A huge offensive board by Mairi Buchan with 7:02 remaining after a shot-clock buzzer beating miss from Shadasia Green gave ODU an extra shot. She kicked it out to Byrd for her second three of the game to give ODU a 25-13 lead with 7:01 remaining.
Senior Jessica Canady would get Old Dominion its biggest lead of the half with a pair of buckets in the final minute to head into the break up 15, 34-19.
ODU held Madison to just 19 points in the first half, the fewest in a half since Northeastern held JMU to just 18 last season, which tied a mark set in 1986 when Western Kentucky held them to just 18 in the first half. JMU was led by the nation's leading scorer, Dawn Evans, scoring nine points in the first half on 3-of-12 shooting.
In the second half, Evans added 13 for a game-high 22, but Old Dominion continued to do a good job bottling up the JMU attack. The Dukes shot just 31.3% from the field for the game on 21-of-67 shooting. Coming into today's game, JMU had the 33rd best scoring offense in the nation at nearly 74 points per game, but the Lady Monarchs forced a season-low 58 points. They shot 2-for-23 from 3-point range, a season-low for both the team and Evans, who had both made three's.
The Dukes cut the lead to six with just over a minute remaining, and had the ball after Green missed the front end of a one-and-one. Evans would miss four three-pointers in the next thirty seconds though and Parker would seal the win by knocking down a pair of free throws to go up eight with 26 seconds remaining. Junior Vicki Collier added a free-throw with 15 seconds remaining for the final, 67-58.
The offensive glass became key down the stretch, as Jessica Canady hauled in a pair of boards on the offensive end that led to four points down the stretch. ODU had 10 second chance points in the second half and 15 for the game.
The win snapped JMU's nine-game home winning streak as Parker filled the stat sheet for Old Dominion. She finished with 10 points, a career-high nine rebounds and six assists. Canady's 14 points led Old Dominion as she added six rebounds and was efficient from the field, going 7-for-10. In the senior's last regular season trip to JMU, she earned her first win. Shadasia Green added 13 points, all in the second half, and six rebounds. It was her 11th double-digit scoring game of the season.
Evans, averaging 27.1 points per game coming into the contest, finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sarah Williams added 11 points and six rebounds while Tarik Hislop had 10 points and six rebounds.
The win improves ODU's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record to 4-1 this season while JMU, receiving votes in both national polls, lost just its third game of the season, second in the CAA.
ODU returns to the court this Thursday night as they host Georgia State at the Ted Constant Convocation Center with a 7:00 p.m. tip. Fans are also encouraged to join head coach Wendy Larry at the Monarch Sports Grille for the Wendy Larry Coach's Show on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m.