HUNTINGTON, W.V. – Old Dominion shot 50% in the second half, while holding Marshall to 35.6% shooting for the game, as the Lady Monarchs had three players score double-figures in their 67-55 victory over the Thundering Herd (16-12, 8-9) on Thursday night at the Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia. ODU (18-10, 11-6) has now won four consecutive ballgames.
The win, keeps the Lady Monarchs in sole possession of fourth place in the Conference USA standings. With one regular season game remaining, if Old Dominion beats Western Kentucky on Saturday, then ODU will claim the fourth seed and first round bye in the conference tournament next week in Birmingham, Alabama.
Jennie Simms led the way for Old Dominion, recording game-highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Also in double-figures for the Lady Monarchs were: Destinee Young (12 points on 5-10 shooting to along with eight rebounds) and Tiffany Minor (11 points). Odegua Oigbokie chipped in six points to compliment eight rebounds. ODU outrebounded Marshall 50-31 for the contest.
With 5:11 remaining in the first half, the Lady Monarchs found themselves down by their largest deficit of the contest, 24-16. From there, Old Dominion began chipping away at Marshall’s lead, trailing 28-25 heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
At the half, Chelisa Painter (seven rebounds), Tiffany Minor and Annika Holopainen each scored five points, respectively. Marshall’s AJ Johnson led all scorers in the first 20 minutes of action, netting eight points, while teammate Leah Scott followed with six points.
AJ Johnson drilled a three with 17:55 to play in the second half to give the Thundering Herd a 33-29 advantage, which would be the last time Marshall led by more than one possession for the rest of the game.
Two consecutive Odegua Oigbokie lay-ins capped off a 16-0 Lady Monarch run over a 5:35 span, giving ODU a 54-39 lead with 8:03 remaining in regulation. A made Jennie Simms jumper lifted Old Dominion to its largest advantage (61-42) of the contest with 3:32 to play in the ballgame, before claiming a 67-55 victory at Marshall on Thursday night.
Old Dominion held a 17-7 advantage for points off turnovers and a 15-8 advantage for second chance points.
In a game which experienced a total of five lead changes and three ties, the Lady Monarchs connected on 40.4% (23-57) form the floor, 26.3% (5-19) from three and 64% (16-25) from the charity stripe. The Thundering Herd shot 35.6% (21-59) from the floor, 22.7% (5-22) from deep and 66.7% (8-12) from the free-throw line.
NEXT UP FOR THE LADY MONARCHS
Old Dominion will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky to take on C-USA leader Western Kentucky on Saturday, March 7 at 3:00 p.m. Saturday will also mark the Lady Toppers Senior Day.
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