NORFOLK, Va. – In the 72nd meeting between the Old Dominion women’s basketball team (5-2) and the Virginia Commonwealth University (4-4), it was the Lady Monarchs who came out victorious by a score of 66-44 on Friday night at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Jennie Simms led all scorers and tied her career high of 21 points (3-5 3PT) to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Tiffany Minor tied her season high of 16 points and hauled down five rebounds. Destinee Young corralled a game-high 11 rebounds to compliment four points on the evening. Chelisa Painter chipped in nine points and six rebounds in the winning effort.
Old Dominion jumped out to an 8-6 lead when the second media timeout of the ballgame occurred with 11:59 showing on the game-clock behind four points off the bench from Odegua Oigbokie. ODU stretched its lead to 16-9 by the under-8 media timeout (7:38), before the Rams scored the next four points making the score 16-13 at the 6:24 mark.
Tiffany Minor and Jennie Simms knocked down back-to-back three pointers, giving the Lady Monarchs a 25-19 advantage with 2:38 to play in the opening half. Just before halftime, Ashley Betz-White banked in a deep three to lift Old Dominion to a 35-21 lead going into the locker rooms.
For the first 20 minutes, ODU connected on 37.5% (12-32) from the floor, 43.8% (7-16) from three and 66.7% (4-6) from the free throw line. VCU shot 33.3% (9-27) from the floor, 14.3% (1-7) from three and 33.3% (2-6) from the FT line.
Simms led all scorers at the half with 10 points (3-6 FG) to go along with three assists. Betz-White went for eight points, while Destinee Young led all rebounders after hauling down five in the first 20 minutes.
Simms completed an old fashion three-point play at the 15:41 mark to give Old Dominion a 41-27 advantage. A Camille Calhoun layup cut the Ram’s deficit to 10 (41-31) with 14:19 to play in the second half.
The second media timeout of the second half presented a 52-37 Lady Monarch lead, before Old Dominion extended its lead to 23 points (60-37) behind an 11-0 run at the 7:49 mark. ODU held its largest advantage of the ballgame of 24 points (65-41) after Tiffany Minor’s fourth three pointer of the contest with 5:05 to play.
For the game, Old Dominion hit 33.3% (20-60) of their shot attempts, 32.1% (9-28) from downtown and 63.0% (17-27) from the charity stripe. Virginia Commonwealth shot 31.0% (18-58) from the floor, 14.3% (2-14) from three and 37.5% (6-16) from the free-throw line.
NEXT UP FOR THE LADY MONARCHS
Old Dominion will have over a week off of competition before taking the hardwood again at No. 7 Louisville on Monday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. The Lady Monarchs game in Kentucky will mark the first of four consecutive road games, including trips to Las Vegas and California.
Be sure to follow ODU Women’s Basketball at @ODUWBB on Twitter and ‘Like’ the ODU Lady Monarch Basketball page by clicking HERE to stay up to date with the latest news and coverage.