AUBURN, Ala. – The Old Dominion University women’s basketball team entered Monday night’s contest winners of nine of their last 12 ballgames; however, the feisty Lady Monarchs fell to Auburn, 82-59, in the Second Round of the 2014 Women’s National Invitational Tournament at Auburn Arena. ODU finishes the 2013-14 season with an 18-16 record, while the Tigers advance to the Third Round of the WNIT with a 19-14 overall record.
Old Dominion was led by Chelisa Painter’s 13 points, to go along with five rebounds. Tiffany Minor knocked down three treys and netted 11 points, while Shae Kelley scored nine points and hauled down seven boards. Also scoring nine points for Old Dominion was LaQuanda Younger, who drilled three deep balls.
The Lady Monarchs and the Tigers were dead-locked at 7 apiece when the game reached its first media timeout, as Becca Allison got ODU going with an early three-pointer. Auburn scored the next five points, before Stephanie Gardner buried a deep three to pull Old Dominion within one, 14-13.
The Tigers then netted eight of the game’s next 10 points, forcing a Karen Barefoot timeout at the 8:25 mark of the first half, with the Lady Monarchs trailing 22-15. LaQuanda Younger stopped the bleeding with her second and then third three of the game, bringing the score to 22-21 in favor of Auburn. A Shae Kelley free-throw brought the game to a 22-22 tie with 6:04 to go in the first half, which was the first dead-lock since 7-7 at the 6:06 mark.
Tiffany Minor’s layup with 2:11 remaining in the opening half lifted the Lady Monarchs to a 28-24 advantage, before the Tigers claimed the half’s final six points taking a 30-28 lead into the locker-rooms.
Auburn netted 13 of the second half’s 16 points, to go on a 19-3 run dating back to the end of the first half, taking a 43-31 lead with 13:23 remaining in regulation. The Tigers would take their largest advantage of the ballgame to that point at the 12:05 mark, as they lead 50-34.
A Tiffany Minor three-pointer stopped the bleeding, bringing ODU within 13 (52-39) with 10:27 to play. Minor drilled yet another shot from downtown to pull the Lady Monarchs within 13 (60-47) again at the 7:45 mark. Auburn then went on a 14-3 run, taking a 74-50 advantage with 3:14 remaining, before ultimately claiming a 82-59 victory.
The Tigers were led by Tyrese Tanner’s 24 points. Also in double figures for Auburn were: Peyton Davis (12 points and nine rebounds), Katie Frerking (11 points), Brady Montgomery (10 points) and Tra’Cree Tanner (10 points).
FIRST HALF NOTES
Auburn held a 30-28 advantage after the opening 20 minutes of competition, as Tyrese Tanner led all scorers with 12. Laquanda Younger led the way for the Lady Monarchs, netting nine points off 3-5 shooting from behind the arc. Shae Kelley went for seven points and five rebounds. Old Dominion’s bench outscored the Tigers’ 14-8.
For the half, Old Dominion shot 36.7% (11-30) from the floor, a sizzling 50% (5-10) from downtown and 50% (1-2) from the charity stripe. Auburn connected on 41.4% (12-29) of their field-goal attempts, 33.3% (1-3) from three and 83.3% (5-6) from the free-throw line.
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