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NORFOLK, Va. - Jackie Cook tied a career-high with 20 points and Tia Lewis had 14 points on senior night as the Lady Monarchs defeated Towson 65-50 at the Ted Constant Center.
Old Dominion improves to 10-20 overall and 7-11 in CAA play while Towson drops to 16-13 overall and falls to 7-11 in conference action. The two squads will face off in the first round of the CAA Tournament next Thursday, March 8, at noon.
The Lady Monarchs held Towson to 29 percent shooting for the game and outscored the Tigers 43-23 in the second half.
ODU trailed at the break 27-22, but stormed out of the break on a 14-2 run to take their first lead since the 16 minute mark of the first half. Mairi Buchan spurred the run with two-straight three's while Lewis and Cook had four points apiece.
The Lady Monarchs pushed their lead to 10 at 45-35 on a pair of Becca Allison free throws but the Tigers clawed back to within four on a Krystal Parnell layup to make the score 45-41.
After head coach Karen Barefoot called a timeout, ODU came right back with a 12-0 run to push the lead to 16 on a three-pointer by Cook to blow the game open.
Towson was unable to get the game under double-digits the rest of the way as ODU finished off the 65-50 victory.
ODU grabbed a 3-2 lead to start the game but Towson came back to take a 13-7 lead on two Krystin Fields foul shots.
Buchan and Allison combined for five points to knock the lead down to one but Towson scored seven of the next 10 to take a 22-15 lead.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Cook hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to two but the Tigers scored five-straight to push the lead to seven before Tiffany Minor ended the half with a layup to make the halftime score 27-22.
Cook tied her career-high with a game-best 20 points and pulled down five rebounds. Lewis finished with 14 points and seven boards while Buchan added 12 points and eight rebounds. JoNiquia Guilford also chipped in nine points and seven rebounds, as ODU held a 41-39 edge on the glass and a 21-15 lead in the second half.
Parnell and Fields led Towson with 16 apiece while Ciara Webb came off the bench to add nine.
Notes
Jackie Cook tied her career-high of 20 when she reached that at VCU on Jan. 11 ... Cook's four three-pointers are a season-high while she tied her career high when she hit four against Northeastern last year in Norfolk ... With 14 points, Tia Lewis now has 1,600 for her career, 22 away from tying Mery Andrade for 10th in school history ... Lewis' seven rebounds puts her with 1,110 for her career, 14 from tying Celeste Hill for fifth in school history ... With seven assists, Ashley Betz-White tied her career-high and became the sixth freshman in school history to record 100 assists in her rook campaign. She now has 105 for her career, tied for fifth most in a freshmen season ... With the win, it is the first time since 2009 that ODU has won the final game of the regular season ... ODU outscored Towson 43-23 in the second half, the largest lead ODU has held against an opponent in the second half this season.