Jan. 24, 2010
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TOWSON, Md. -- After VCU lost to Drexel earlier in the day, the Lady Monarchs (8-9, 6-1) earned a comeback victory on the road against the Towson Tigers (9-9, 3-4), 57-50. ODU now sits in a three-way tie with Drexel and VCU atop the CAA standings, with a 6-1 conference record.
Junior Jasmine Parker scored 22 points in the victory, including a personal 8-2 run late that gave ODU the lead after going down by as many as 13 in the second half.
In the first half, it was the home team that took advantage of mistakes to get the early lead. Towson scored 15 points in the half off of ODU turnovers as the Lady Monarchs had 15 giveaways.
ODU managed to keep Towson's leading scorer, Shanae Baker-Brice, in check, respectively, by allowing her to make just three of her 13 chances, but senior forward Haliena Snowden took over instead. Snowden was the catalyst for the Towson offense, scoring 12 points in the half on 6-of-8 shooting. Baker-Brice added nine points, but missed ten shots.
The Tigers led by eight at the break, 31-23, closing out the first period on a 16-4 run in the final 9:15. ODU was plagued by foul trouble early, losing junior guard Jasmine Parker to two quick fouls and also enduring two fouls from starter Shadasia Green and reserve Vicki Collier. Green led the way with six points while Parker added five in just seven minutes played.
It looked to be the same story early for ODU, as Parker and Green each picked up their third fouls quick, but Parker would stay in and stayed hot from outside. She had the first five points early in the half to keep ODU within striking distance and then another baseline leaner with 11:37 remaining to get the Lady Monarchs rolling.
Her basket triggered a 13-4 run for Old Dominion, getting back within two, 45-43. The pressure defense forced several turnovers in the stretch. A pair of made free-throws from Snowden stopped the run, but the Lady Monarchs just kept coming. Parker took over, scoring eight straight points for ODU including the go-ahead trey with 3:35 remaining. On the ensuing Towson possession, Canady stepped into the passing lane and forced another turnover, leading to another huge three-pointer, this time from rookie Jackie Cook.
Now up 51-47 with under three minutes to go, the Lady Monarchs turned to their senior, Canady, off a great pass from sophomore Mairi Buchan and she knocked down the layup to go up 53-47. Baker-Brice answered with an and-one lay-in, cutting the lead to three with just one minute remaining.
Though ODU turned it over, the Tigers couldn't capitalize and would have to foul Canady with 38 seconds remaining. She knocked down both of the one-and-one free throws to go up five again, 55-50. Parker would seal the victory with a pair of free-throws to finish out the game with 22 points, just two shy of her career-high and a career-tying CAA-high. She knocked down 8-of-10 shots including 4-of-5 from long range.
Canady finished just one rebound shy of a double-double, with 10 points and 9 rebounds and Cook added seven points and five rebounds.
Towson was led by Baker-Brice with 18 points and six assists, while Snowden had 16 points in the loss.
With the win, ODU improves to 6-1 in the CAA, joining VCU and Drexel with the league's best records. The latter matched up earlier in the day on Sunday and Drexel earned a last-second victory on a Gabriela Marginean jumper, handing VCU its first conference loss of the season.
ODU returns to the floor this Thursday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. They will take on the Tribe of William & Mary (10-8, 3-4) in Williamsburg.