Jan. 7, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion women's basketball team welcomes preseason Colonial Athletic Association favorite James Madison to the Ted Constant Center Sunday for a clash of conference heavyweights.
The battle of undefeated CAA teams will be aired at 3 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus, CSN New England and The Comcast Network Philadelphia, and then replayed on tape delay on CSN Mid-Atlantic at 5 p.m. that same day. Al Koken and Jody Lavin Patrick will be doing the play-by-play and color, respectively.
Sunday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN Radio 94.1 FM with play-by-play provided by Tony Mercurio and color analysis from Susan Montgomery.
Both squads enter Sunday playing their best basketball of the season. Old Dominion (8-5, 2-0 CAA) has won four of its last five games, including a 70-66 conference win over George Mason on Thursday. James Madison (9-5, 2-0 CAA) is riding a four-game winning streak and topped William & Mary, 89-75, Thursday to remain perfect in league play.
The Lady Monarchs are 6-1 this season at the Constant Center, where they are averaging nearly 3,400 fans per game. Senior Jasmine Parker leads the team with 13.7 points and 3.5 steals per game. The guard ranks fourth nationally in steals per game. Junior Tia Lewis has come on strong of late, averaging 17.0 points and 10.2 rebounds in her last five outings.
The Dukes are paced by the nations leading scorer Dawn Evans, who is averaging a remarkable 25.8 points per game. Lauren Jimenez leads JMU on the boards, pulling down 8.5 a game.
Old Dominion and James Madison have combined to win 18 of the past 19 CAA Tournament Titles, with Old Dominion winning 17 straight from 1992-2008 and JMU claiming their fifth CAA crown, but first since 1989, last year. ODU is 51-20 all-time against James Madison, but the Lady Monarchs fell to the Dukes twice last season, including in the CAA Championship game in Harrisonburg.
James Madison fell in its last game at the Ted Constant Center, losing 65-53 to Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Norfolk last March.
Sunday's game is also Military Day. All fans with a valid military ID receive a $5 ticket. Fans are also reminded to bring their cameras to get their picture taken with 2010 Capital One Mascot of the Year, Big Blue from 2:00-2:30 pm on the east main concourse level.
-ODU-