Jan. 9, 2011
NORFOLK, Va. - Senior guard Kquanise Byrd tallied a career-high 16 points to lead Old Dominion past defending Colonial Athletic Association champion James Madison, 71-55, Sunday at the Ted Constant Center.
Byrd shot 4-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line to surpass her previous career-high of 14 points, recorded earlier this season verse Charlotte. The senior also drew the difficult task of guarding JMU's Dawn Evans, who entered the game as the nation's leading scorer at 25.8 points per game.
Byrd and the ODU defense held Evans, who earned Associate Press All-America Honorable Mention honors just a year ago, to 17 points on 6-of-26 shooting.
Old Dominion, which has won five of its last six games, improves to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in conference play. James Madison drops its first league game to fall to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in the CAA.
Junior Tia Lewis recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Jasmine Parker hit for 15 points and pulled down a career-high tying nine rebounds.
The Lady Monarchs never trailed in the game and took control early, going on a 13-2 run to go up 18-6 midway through the first half.
James Madison got to within six at 43-37 in the second half, but ODU responded with a 9-2 spurt and JMU was never able to get the game back into single digits. The Lady Monarchs led by as many as 21 points with under four to play.
Senior Shadasia Green chipped in 11 points and Jackie Cook hauled down a career-high tying 11 rebounds for ODU.
The Lady Monarchs return to the road Thursday at Georgia State. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. in Atlanta, Ga.
-ODU-