NORFOLK, Va. - In the 13th meeting between the Old Dominion women’s basketball team and Duke, it was the No. 7 nationally ranked Blue Devils who prevailed 82-66 on Thursday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Three-time All-American and Princess Anne High School graduate Elizabeth Williams (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded 22 points and hauled down eight rebounds in the winning effort.
Jennie Simms started off the scoring for the Lady Monarchs with a running floater in the middle of the paint, after five unanswered points from the Blue Devils, to put the score at 5-2 at the 18:40 mark. A deep Tiffany Minor three-pointer cut ODU’s deficit to four points (15-11) with 14:45 to play in the opening half. By the second media timeout (10:47), Duke held a 24-14 advantage.
Annika Holopainen made an instant impact off the bench for Old Dominion, connecting on two jumpers and taking a charge, bringing the score to 26-20 with 5:55 remaining in the first half. Minor and Simms would cut ODU’s deficit to just three (30-27) with 3:25 to play in half No. 1.
Just before halftime, Younger used a pump fake and then dribble-drive to bank in a jumper, bringing the score to 36-31 in favor of Duke at the break.
Both teams shot the ball well form the floor in the first 20 minutes, as the Blue Devils went 17-34 for 50% and the Lady Monarchs knocked down 13 of their 30 first half shots for a 43.3% success rate. Chelisa Painter led Old Dominion with 10 points, while Minor followed with eight. Elizabeth Williams connected on her first five field goal attempts, going for 14 points (7-8 FG) and five rebounds in the first half.
Duke started the first four minutes of the second half on a 14-2 run, lifting the Blue Devils to a 50-33 lead. Duke extended its lead to 21 with 11:59 to play in the game, before Old Dominion would cut the lead down to 11 (67-56) forcing a Blue Devil timeout with 5:38 remaining in regulation.
ODU managed to bring the contest to a ten point game on three different occasions before Duke put the game away for good on its way to an 82-66 victory over Old Dominion.
Ka’Lia Johnson recorded a triple double for the Blue Devils, going for 18 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
Duke went 35-of-64 (55%) from the field, made 6-of-19 (32%) three-pointers, and hit 6-of-8 (75%) free throws. The Blue Devils led in rebounds (44-29), second-chance points (12-4), points in the paint (40-18), blocks (6-4), and assists (22-14).
Three Lady Monarchs scored in double figures. Minor led the way with 16 points, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, followed by Painter with 14 points and Simms with 12 points and a team-high six boards.
Old Dominion finished shooting 28-of-67 (42%) from the field, made 8-of-25 shots (32%) from beyond the arc, and was 2-of-8 (25%) from the charity stripe. The Lady Monarchs led in points off turnovers (18-8) while the bench outscored the Blue Devils’ 22-10.
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