Jan. 20, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - Despite cutting a 14-point second half deficit to just two with less than three minutes to play, the Old Dominion women's basketball team came up just short in a 63-60 loss to Virginia Commonwealth Thursday evening at the Ted Constant Center.
The loss snaps ODU's five-game winning streak and is the first home loss for the Lady Monarchs since being defeated by Tennessee on December 5. The setback also creates a four-way tie at the top of the Colonial Athletic Association standings.
Senior Kquanise Byrd and junior Tia Lewis led the way for Old Dominion (11-6, 5-1 CAA) with 11 points each, while VCU's Courtney Hurt posted game-highs in points (19) and rebounds (16).
VCU (10-6, 5-1 CAA) won the battle of the boards, 39-32, and held a dominant 42-25 advantage in points in the paint.
Old Dominion led by as many as eight (19-11) midway through the first half, but VCU closed the opening period on a 27-9 run to go into halftime up by 10.
The Rams built their lead to as many as 14 in the second half and were up 54-42 at the 8:22 mark. The Lady Monarchs got back in the game from that point, going on a 14-4 run to make it a two-point game with less than three minutes remaining. Parker had five points during the ODU spurt, including a fast break three-point field goal that capped it.
Trailing 63-60 with 26 seconds to play, Old Dominion was forced to foul VCU's Andrea Barbour, who missed the front end of the one-and-one. After a Lady Monarch timeout, Parker got her hands on the ball and got an open look, but it was from nearly five feet behind the three-point line. Her shot grazed the rim and went out of bounds to seal VCU's second straight win in Norfolk.
Old Dominion will look to rebound on Sunday when it hosts Towson at 2 p.m. The Lady Monarchs topped Towson just 18 days ago in Maryland.
-ODU-