NORFOLK, Va. -- As the Old Dominion women’s basketball team is poised to commence another season with lofty ambitions set before them, the current 997 figure in the win column serves as a perpetual reminder of the program’s legendary history. The Lady Monarchs are just three victories away from eclipsing the 1,000-win milestone, which includes three national championships, 22 conference crowns and has produced countless All-Americans and Olympians.
ODU will become the fourth program to reach 1,000 victories, joining Tennessee (1,277), Louisiana Tech (1,059) and James Madison (1,018) as the only programs to achieve this feat.
In its 46-year history, ODU women’s basketball teams have amassed a 997-388 (.720) record and have landed 25 NCAA Championship appearances. In the process, the Lady Monarch basketball program has developed legends of the sport such as all-time leading scorer and four-time Olympic Gold Medalist (two as a player and two as a coach) Anne Donovan as well as Olympic Silver Medalist, three-time All-American, long-time WNBA standout and current NBA coach, Nancy Lieberman.
Leading the way at the forefront of the ODU women’s basketball program through the innumerable accolades have been some outstanding coaches. From 1977-1987, Marianne Stanley guided the Lady Monarchs to two AIAW National Championships, an NCAA National Championship and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Under the tutelage of her successor, Wendy Larry, ODU clinched 17-straight CAA Championships, a Sun Belt Championship, and appeared in the NCAA Tournament 20 times.
Now entering her fifth season at the helm, Karen Barefoot has accumulated 69 wins for the Lady Monarchs and has her sights set on clinching the 1,000-win milestone and earning the program’s 22nd conference crown. Last season’s C-USA Newcomer of the Year, Jennie Simms, a preseason All-C-USA selection, will lead Old Dominion. Simms emerged as one of the dominant guards in the league and led ODU in points (19.3 ppg) and rebounds (8.1) on top of first team all-conference honors.
The 2015-16 Old Dominion women’s basketball season is here, and while accomplishing the historic feat will commemorate those who blazed a trail to the program’s legendary status in the past, the Lady Monarchs have also never been more focused on the future.
ODU will officially open the season on Friday, November 13 at the Robins Center as it takes on the Richmond Spiders at 3:00 p.m. Richmond returns its top two scorers from last year in Janelle Hubbard and Lauren Tolson who combined to drop in 27.0 points per game. Tolson averaged 13.1 points, while Hubbard averaged 13.8 points and hit a team-high 59 threes.
The Lady Monarchs return home to the Ted Constant Center for a three-game home stand, starting on Sunday, Nov. 15 against the Wagner Seahawks at 2:00 p.m. Wagner completed the 2014-15 season with a 7-22 overall record and return Jasmine Nwajei, the No. 2 scorer in the nation last year at 24.8 points per game.
Old Dominion will then take on ACC competitor Miami on Nov. 17 and East Tennessee State on Nov. 23, both at 7:00 p.m. ETSU enters its third season under head coach Brittney Ezell and is coming off a 21-12 record a year ago in which they reached the Southern Conference Tournament Finals and earned a berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The Hurricanes, who received votes in both the preseason USA Today Poll and Associate Press Top-25, finished the season 20-13 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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