NORFOLK, Va. – In a renewed Sun Belt Conference rivalry contest, it was the No. 25 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers (13-2, 3-0) who prevailed over the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (8-6, 1-2) by a score of 76-60 on Saturday afternoon at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Chastity Gooch led four Lady Toppers in double-figures, netting 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Also in double figures for WKU, were: Micah Jones (18 points and five assists) Alexis Govan (17 points and five assists) and Ileana Johnson (11 points).
Jennie Simms led the way for Old Dominion, as she scored a new career high 26 points on 9-17 shooting from the floor to compliment eight rebounds and four assists. Tiffany Minor chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.
After WKU hit four early three-pointers, the Lady Toppers jumped out to a 16-8 advantage with 14:08 showing on the first half’s game-clock. A Destinee Young mid-range jumper with 9:26 left in the opening 20 minutes, cut the Lady Monarchs deficit to 22-17.
Western Kentucky stretched its lead to 31-17 at the 4:34 mark on a Chastity Gooch jumper, forcing a Lady Monarchs timeout. After trailing by 14 at one point in the first half, the Lady Monarchs ended the first half on a 5-0 run, presenting a 35-27 WKU lead heading into the locker rooms.
In a first half in which eight different ODU players scored, it was Jennie Simms who led the way for the Lady Monarchs, going for nine points on 3-6 shooting from the floor in 14 minutes of work. Western Kentucky’s Micah Jones led all first half scorers with 12, while Alexis Govan followed with eight points to go along with four assists.
In the first half, Old Dominion controlled the paint (16-4), while the Lady Toppers took advantage of points off turnovers (19-2). For the half, Old Dominion connected on 38.7% (12-31) from the floor, 60% (3-5) from three and 100% (2-2) from the free-throw line. WKU shot 38.7% (12-31) from the floor, 46.7 (7-15) from deep and 40% (4-10) from the charity stripe.
By the first media timeout of the second, Old Dominion trailed by a score of 49-37 with 14:37 to play in regulation. The Lady Monarchs answered back with a 6-1 run to cut their deficit to seven (50-43) with 11:58 remaining in the second 20 minutes of action.
A Keyana Brown three-pointer pulled Old Dominion within six, 53-47, at the 10:41 mark. The Lady Toppers then answered on an 8-0 run over a 1:27 span to take a 61-47 advantage, forcing an ODU timeout with 7:38 to play.
By the last media timeout which occurred at the 3:39 mark, Western Kentucky held onto a 66-52 lead before claiming a 76-60 victory.
For the game, Old Dominion hit 43.4% (23-53) of their shot attempts, 47.1% (8-17) from downtown and 75% (6-8) from the charity stripe. Western Kentucky shot 42.2% (27-64) from the floor, 44.4% (8-16) from three and 63.6% (14-22) from the free-throw line. The Lady Toppers held a 29-4 advantage on points off turnovers for the contest.
NEXT UP FOR THE LADY MONARCHS
Today’s contest concludes Old Dominion’s three-game home-stand. The Lady Monarchs will travel to take on Rice in Houston on Thursday, Jan. 15 (7:00 p.m. EST tipoff). ODU then plays North Texas in Denton on Saturday, Jan. 17 (5:00 p.m. EST tipoff).
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.