Jan. 27, 2011
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Junior Tia Lewis recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds to lead Old Dominion past William & Mary, 68-55, Thursday evening at Kaplan Arena.
The win is ODU's 51st consecutive over the Tribe, a steak that is tied for the longest active winning streak against an opponent (Stanford over Washington State) in Division I women's basketball.
Old Dominion (13-6, 7-1 CAA) shared the ball extremely well in the win, dishing out a season-best 23 assists. Senior Jasmine Parker led the team with eight assists and sophomore JoNiquia Guilford tallied five helpers.
Sophomore Jackie Cook netted 13 of her career-high tying 14 points in the first half, while senior Shadasia Green was one off her season-high with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.
William & Mary's Taysha Pye exploded for 29 points, the most any opponent has hit for against ODU this season. The junior also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for the Tribe (2-16, 1-7 CAA).
The game was tied at 30 at the end of the first half, but behind six straight points from Green, Old Dominion took an early six-point advantage in the second half. The Tribe responded immediately though, netting eight consecutive points to go up 38-36 at the 16:14 mark.
William & Mary led 40-39 minutes later until a 15-5 ODU run put the Lady Monarchs up by nine (54-45) with eight minutes to play. The Old Dominion spurt was charged by a pair of Kquanise Byrd triples and a traditional three-point play from senior Alena Voronina.
Old Dominion held William & Mary without a field goal from the 11:30 mark of the second half until Pye hit a jumper with just over five minutes to play.
The Lady Monarch lead ballooned to as many as 15 late as the Tribe only managed two points during the final 3:25 of play.
Byrd ended the contest with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3-of-4 from three). The senior has now scored in double-figures in four straight and five of her last six games.
Old Dominion, which has won seven of its last eight games and four straight on the road, remains in a three-way tie with James Madison and UNC Wilmington for first-place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.
The Lady Monarchs return home Sunday to face Georgia State at 2 p.m. Fans are reminded that if they bring an item of canned food for the Extreme Makeover food drive that they'll receive a $5 ticket. Additionally, Lady Monarch great Medina Dixon's jersey will be retired prior to the start of the game.
-ODU-