Nov. 24, 2011
ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS - Becca Allison hit a jumper at the edge of the lane with 1.2 seconds left to give Old Dominion University women's basketball a 77-76 win over Alabama Thursday afternoon in the first game of the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands.
With the score tied at 75, Erin Hogue was fouled getting a rebound and hit 1-of-2 foul shots to give Alabama a one-point lead with 11 seconds to play. Shakeva Richards grabbed the inbounds pass and dribbled up the right side before passing to Allison, who dribbled over to the middle of the court, made a spin move before draining a jumper from the left elbow with 1.2 seconds left. Alabama did not get a desperation shot off in time.
Richards hit a pair of free throws with just over two minutes to play and Tia Lewis added a layup to give ODU a 74-70 lead. Aneesah Daniels hit a layup to bring Alabama back within two at 74-72 with two minutes to play and hit a foul shot shortly after to make the score 74-73. Betz-White added another foul shot to push the lead to 75-73 before Daniels hit a layup to tie the score.
Alabama took their first lead since the 16:49 mark of the first half at 52-50 on a layup from Erin Hogue.
Alabama took a 57-55 lead on a three-pointer from Ericka Russell but ODU fought back to take a one-point lead at 60-59 on a free throw from Becca Allison.
The teams traded punches in the early going, with Alabama taking an 11-9 lead on a jumper from Ericka Russell, who scored the first 11 points for the Crimson Tide and had 17 in the first half. ODU stormed right back on a Lewis jumper to take the lead.
ODU went on an 12-0 run to take a 25-13 lead at the 11:53 mark. Ashley Betz-White started the run on a fastbreak layup and Tia Lewis capped the run with a three-point play. Jasmine Robinson stopped the run with a jumper for Alabama.
The Lady Monarchs continued their strong first half play scoring the next six points, four from Lewis to push the lead to 31-16.
ODU kept the lead in double-digits until just under the three minute mark, Alabama went on a 12-2 run to end the half and go into half with a 46-44 ODU lead.
Lewis set a new career-high with 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting while Betz-White had 20 points, including 10-of-12 from the foul line.
Russell led the Crimson Tide with 29 points, including six three-pointers, just missing her career-best by one point. Jasmine Robinson and Meghan Perkins each had 13 points.
The win is the first for ODU head coach Karen Barefoot with the Lady Monarchs.
The Lady Monarchs play Louisiana Tech tomorrow at 3:15 EST.