Dec. 29, 2010
NEW ORLEANS, La. - For the second time this season five Old Dominion players scored in double-figures as the Lady Monarchs rolled past Charlotte, 81-75, in their first game of the Double Tree Classic in New Orleans, La.
Old Dominion (6-4), which led by as many as 18 points late in the second half, scored a season-high 81 points in the victory. The Lady Monarchs also snapped Charlotte's seven-game winning streak as the 49ers fall to 10-3 on the year.
"I thought there were times that we executed offensively as good as we have all year," said Old Dominion head coach Wendy Larry. "We shot the ball extremely well from beyond the arc all night and that helped us compensate for Charlotte's tremendous athleticism on the glass."
Senior Jasmine Parker led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season with 16 points. The guard also tied her career-high with nine assists and swiped three steals.
Senior Kquanise Byrd chipped in a career-high 14 points, while classmate Shadasia Green added 11 and a team-high eight rebounds. Tia Lewis tallied 14 points for her seventh double digit scoring effort of the season and JoNiquia Guilford posted 12 points off the bench.
"I think playing a really solid Charlotte team and winning on a neutral floor is exciting and now gets us into a championship environment on a home court against a very good Tulane team," said Larry.
Old Dominion will face Tulane, who won 84-65 over Nicholls State in the first game of the day, in the championship game of the Double Tree Classic. Tip time is set for 4 p.m. on the east.
The Lady Monarchs overcame a 52-31 Charlotte rebounding advantage with stellar three-point shooting. ODU drilled a season-high nine triples on just 18 attempts. Parker made a game-high three from beyond the arc to lead the Lady Monarchs.
Old Dominion canned six three's in the first half, including three straight triples on three consecutive possessions to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point advantage (24-21) with 5:22 remaining in the stanza.
The Lady Monarchs closed the opening half on a 7-0 run with five of the points coming from sophomore Jackie Cook. ODU led 37-31 at the break.
Old Dominion pushed its lead to double digits early in the second half before Charlotte battled back and cut its deficit to just three (51-48) at the 10:22 mark.
A 9-0 Lady Monarch run, sparked by the play of Byrd, seemed to put the 49ers away for good. Byrd hit a three from the right wing and turned a steal into a fast break lay-in to conclude the run and give ODU a 60-48 lead with just under nine minutes remaining.
Old Dominion pushed its lead to as many as 18 with under three minutes left, but Charlotte didn't go away and the 49ers pressure defense brought the Lady Monarch lead to as few as three (77-74) with under 30 seconds remaining.
Four clutch free throws from Byrd would seal the game on ODU's next two possessions.
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