WHO: Old Dominion (15-10, 8-6) vs. Rice (8-17, 3-11)
WHEN: Thursday, Feb 26 at 11:00 a.m. EST
WHERE: Ted Constant Convocation Center
MEDIA: ESPN 94.1 FM (Hampton Roads)/Monarch Media (Live Video/Audio Stream)/Live Pregame Show Begins at 10:30 a.m.
OLD DOMINION PROBABLE STARTERS
No. 11 Ashley Betz-White (G/RJr./5-4/Harrisburg, Pa.)
No. 25 Jennie Simms (F/RSo./6-0/Accokeek, Md.)
No. 32 Tiffany Minor (G/Sr./6-0/Upper Marlboro, Md.)
No. 34 Odegua Oigbokie (F/So./6-1/Memphis, Tenn.)
No. 40 Destinee Young (F/So./6-1/Hoffman Estates, Ill.)
RICE’s PROBABLE STARTERS
No. 3 Maya Hawkins (G/5-6/Mansfield, Texas)
No. 21 Nakachi Maduka (G/5-11/Arlington, Texas)
No. 22 Maya Adetula (G/5-10/Mansfield, Texas)
No. 33 Jasmine Goodwine (F/6-1/Killeen, Texas)
No. 31 Christal Porter (F/6-0/Germantown, Tennessee)
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion University women’s basketball team (15-10, 8-6) will take on Rice (8-17, 3-11) on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 11:00 a.m. EST, for the program’s first Field Trip Day.
Field Trip Day is an outgrowth of the popularity of the Lady Monarchs annual Education Day, a partnership with Norfolk Public Schools. Elementary school children from any of the 13 Hampton Roads school districts, as well as private schools. Nearly 600 students from 18 schools are expected to be on-hand for Thursday’s contest from a wide-range of cities throughout Hampton Roads, including Suffolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Newport News, Hampton, Wakefield and Norfolk.
HOW TO TUNE IN
Thursday’s contest will be video/audio streamed live through Monarch Media on ODUSports.com and will also air live on ESPN 94.1 FM Hampton Roads with Doug Ripley (Voice of the Lady Monarchs) handling the duties. The live pregame show will begin at 10:30 a.m. EST.
ALL-TIME SERIES
2-0 in favor of Old Dominion
Thursday’s contest will be the third all-time meeting between the Owls of Rice and the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs. During the last encounter between these two teams, the Lady Monarchs beat the Owls in Houston by a score of 62-55 on January 15, 2015.
ABOUT THE LADY MONARCHS (15-10, 8-6)
Old Dominion enters Thursday’s contest with a 15-10 overall record along with an 8-6 C-USA mark with an impressive 8-4 record away from the Ted.
The Lady Monarchs are coming off an impressive 72-71 nail-biting victory at LA tech on Sunday afternoon, which was televised by the FOX Sports Network. Redshirt sophomore and Portland transfer, Annika Holopainen led the way for ODU on Sunday, netting a season-high 26 points (10-15 FG and 6-9 3PT) including the game-winning three-pointer with just three seconds remaining in the contest.
The Lady Monarchs currently rest in fifth place in the C-USA standings, just a half game behind LA Tech.; however, Old Dominion holds the tiebreaker advantage over the Lady Techsters. The top four teams earn a first round bye in the Conference USA Tournament.
ODU currently is fourth in the conference for field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.9% shooting. The Lady Monarchs are allowing 61.2 points per game. Old Dominion averages 15.6 forced turnovers a contest. ODU currently sits second in Conference USA for average attendance, drawing 2,158 fans to each home game at the Ted.
Jennie Simms ranks 46th in the country third in the conference in points per game, netting 18.4 a contest. Simms also leads the squad in rebounds, grabbing 7.4 boards a contest. Tiffany Minor is fifth in the conference in three-point field goals per game averaging 2.0. Destinee Young is sixth in the Conference USA blocked shots per game ladder, averaging 1.2 an outing.
Tiffany Minor averages 7.9 points to compliment 4.6 rebounds per game. Ashley-Betz White currently leads the squad in assists (72) and steals (38), while averaging 6.5 points a ballgame. Destinee Young is Old Dominion’s second leading rebounder averaging 6.8 per contest, with 66 of her 169 total boards coming on the offensive end. Young is the Lady Monarchs leading shot blocker with 30 rejections so far this season.
ABOUT RICE (8-17, 3-11)
Rice enters Thursday’s contest with an 8-17 overall record and a 3-11 C-USA mark. The Owls have posted a 7-7 record while playing at home, and only just a 1-10 record on the road. Rice is coming into today’s game after falling to Florida Atlantic 70-82 in Houston.
Rice averages 61.8 points per contest, while giving up 64.6 points per game to their opponents. The Ows force 16.9 turnovers a game and give the ball up 17.4 times per contest.
The Owls are lead by sophomore forward Jasmine Goodwine who is averaging 10.8 points-per-game and 4.5 rebounds-per-game and by senior center Christal Porter, 10.6 ppg and 11.2 rpg.
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