Feb. 20, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Game 25
Sunday, February 21st - 3:00 p.m.
Old Dominion University Lady Monarchs (14-10, 12-2 CAA) vs.
James Madison University Dukes (13-11, 4-9 CAA)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,600) - Norfolk, Va.
TV: Comcast SportsNet (Cox Ch. 35)
Radio: ESPN Radio 94.1 FM
Live Stats: Gametracker
Online Audio: Monarch TV
Online Video: Monarch TV
NORFOLK, Va. -- For the seventh straight year, Old Dominion University will host a Hoops for a Cure game. This year, as a part of the WBCA Pink Zone, the first place Lady Monarchs (14-10, 12-2 CAA) host long-time rivals James Madison (19-6, 9-5 CAA) at 3:00 p.m.
Old Dominion will be wearing their pink uniforms and pink shoelaces in support of the cause; and the coaches will also be wearing pink. Fans are encouraged to join the Lady Monarchs in an attempt to
PINK OUT THE TED this Sunday.
The Lady Monarchs will be welcoming in a familiar foe in James Madison, whom they defeated in Harrisonburg earlier this season. ODU earned just the ninth win in the previous 75 games for an opponent in Harrisonburg and snapped a four-game skid to the Dukes. Last season, JMU became just the third CAA team to beat ODU at home with a win in Norfolk.
ODU is in first place in the CAA and James Madison in fourth, fighting for one of the four first round bye's in the CAA Tournament. The Dukes have been led by the league's second leading scorer, Dawn Evans, who ranks fourth in the country with 25.3 points per game. One of the nation's top three-ball shooters, Evans will be coming to the Ted after posting a Constant Center record 36 points last season.
The Lady Monarchs have been led by junior Jasmine Parker in league-play this season. She is averaging 12.1 points per game and is also dishing out a career-high number of assists. One of the CAA's top man-to-man defenders, Parker is also among the league's elite in steals per game. She is joined by senior Jessica Canady, having a stellar year despite missing over half the non-conference slate rehabbing a knee injury. Canady is just 35 points shy of the 1,000 mark in her career and is averaging 11.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg in CAA action.
Today's Game:
All-Time Series - ODU is 51-18 all-time against the Dukes, dating back to the 1969-70 season. James Madison had won three straight over the past two seasons before ODU snapped that streak earlier this year with a 67-58 win in Harrisonburg. JMU has a league-high five wins over Old Dominion in the last four season, including a win in Norfolk, just the third conference loss ODU suffered at home since joining the CAA.
About the Dukes - James Madison is one of the top teams in the league this season and is currently battling for one of the four sports and a first round bye in the CAA Tournament. The Dukes are just one win away from their fifth straight 20-win season. Earlier this year, they defeated a pair of teams currently in the national rankings, Virginia & Georgetown.
JMU features not only one of the best players in the CAA, but one of the nation's top scorers in Dawn Evans. The junior from Tennessee ranks second in the CAA and fourth in the nation in points per game, with 25.3 ppg. She is a nominee for every major award and was a pre-season All-American. She is the most prolific 3-point shooter in JMU history and one of the top long-ball threats in the nation.
Evans is not the only threat, though, as rookie Tarik Hislop is also averaging double figures, with 10.6 points per game. Fifth year senior Sarah Williams is the only player to start all 25 games for the Dukes and she ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.6 ppg.
As a team, JMU is leading the league in scoring offense (71.2 ppg), scoring margin (+8.7) and field goal percentage (.352)
99 Constant Center Wins on the Wall, 99 Constant Center Wins...
Add one now...that's all the Lady Monarchs need to reach 100 victories in their beautiful arena, opened in 2002. The ODU women have averaged over 12 home wins per year at the Ted Constant Convocation Center and will be looking for their eighth such victory this season.
Georgia On Her Mind
Sophomore Tia Lewis must have been thinking "Home Sweet Home" when she knocked down the game-winning layup with 0.6 seconds remaining at Georgia State. The ODU forward is from Poulan, Georgia and in her first trip to her home state as a Lady Monarch, she was the hero. As the defense collapsed onto junior Jasmine Parker, she found Lewis on the left side of the paint for a wide-open bucket and was fouled. She converted the old-fashioned three-point play to put ODU up by two with less than a second remaining. She finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the game.
All-Around Parker
Jasmine Parker is having a terrific all-around season for the Lady Monarchs in her third year. She was leading the team in scoring for some time and is still the team leader in points per game for CAA games. More than the scoring, though, Parker has been a top notch defender and great facilitator for her teammates this season. The Norfolk native has etched career-highs in assists (89) and steals (61) this year and is among the league leaders in both categories. She is also likely to set a new career-high in rebounds in today's game, as she is just two shy of her previous mark with 75 total boards this season. Offensively, she is ODU's top deep threat, hitting 37 three's this season and ranks second on the team in scoring, with 11.1 points per game.
CAA Dominance at Home
Since Old Dominion joined the CAA in 1992, the Lady Monarchs have only lost four games in Norfolk. The most recent was two Sunday's ago as VCU posted a 19-point win over the Lady Monarchs, the largest margin of defeat ODU has suffered in a home conference game. Old Dominion is now 151-4 in regular season conference games at home since joining the CAA. Including the eight CAA Tournaments held in Norfolk, Old Dominion has a 174-4 overall record against CAA opponents at home.
Whew! That Was Close
ODU is excelling in tight ball games this season, going 9-2 in the eleven games decided by single digits this season, including seven straight wins. Four have come on the road (JMU, Towson, UNCW and GSU) and three at home (GSU, Hofstra, Delaware). ODU's closest game this season was a 1-point win at Delaware, powered to victory by Jasmine Parker taking a charge and knocking down a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game. They were forced to win on a last second shot at Georgia State, when Tia Lewis converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 0.6 seconds remaining for the two-point win.