Feb. 3, 2011
FAIRFAX, Va. - Senior Jasmine Parker drilled a 15-foot jumper as time expired to lead Old Dominion past George Mason in dramatic fashion, 68-67, Thursday evening in Fairfax. The Lady Monarchs have now won nine of their last 10 games and five straight on the road.
Senior Alena Voronina paced Old Dominion (15-6, 9-1 CAA) with 17 points and six rebounds, while Parker ended the night with 13 points.
Old Dominion led 65-60 after a pair of Voronina free throws with just under two minutes to play. George Mason's Amber Easter then drilled a triple on the Patriots next possession to cut the Lady Monarch lead to two.
Parker was fouled on ODU's ensuing possession and the senior hit one-of-two from the line to give the Lady Monarchs a 66-63 lead with just over a minute remaining.
George Mason then missed consecutive three-point attempts that would have tied the game, but Taleia Moton grabbed the Patriots second straight offensive rebound and stuck it back to cut the ODU lead to one with 35 seconds to go.
After an Old Dominion timeout, the Lady Monarchs immediately turned the ball over, giving Mason a chance to take the lead. Moton missed a lay-up, but once again the Patriots came up with a big offensive board. Easter grabbed the Moton miss, was fouled going back up and converted both free throws to give the home team a 67-66 lead with just 14 seconds remaining.
The Lady Monarchs then inbounded the ball and got it into the hands of Parker, who came around a screen, took two dribbles inside the three three-point line and hit the jumper over a charging defender as the horn blared.
The officials went to the replay screen to determine if the shot left Parker's hands in time and after a quick look they confirmed the call on the court.
Old Dominion shot 46.3 percent for the game and out-rebounded George Mason, 36-31. The Patriots shot 42.9 percent from the floor, but just 13.3 percent from beyond the arc against the third best three-point defense in the nation.
Junior Tia Lewis fell just one rebound shy of her eighth double-double of the season as the forward posted 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Senior Kquanise Byrd dished out a career-high tying six assists in the ODU victory.
Easter and Moton both finished with 20 points for George Mason (10-11, 4-6 CAA), which had won three of its previous four games.
Old Dominion next travels to James Madison on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Lady Monarchs, Dukes and UNC Wilmington are locked in a three-way tie for the top spot in the CAA standings.
-ODU-