NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team dropped a close 56-52 game to East Tennessee State on Monday evening at the Ted Constant Center.
Jennie Simms led the Lady Monarchs with 15 points and Keyana Brown added 12 points, including three three-pointers. Gianna Smith had her best game of the season, as she registered a career-high nine points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
Despite ODU leading ETSU by six points entering the fourth quarter, the Bucs picked up the offensive charge and went on a 14-2 run to take the lead with 3:42 left in the game. The Lady Monachs would pull within three points in the final minute, but Simms' three-point shot with 10 seconds remaining rimmed out and the Buccaneers grabbed the rebound to secure the win.
After 4:31 minutes of action, ETSU held a slight 9-5 edge over the Lady Monarchs, but after the first media timeout of the contest ODU came out firing. Brown sparked the 8-2 run with her sixth three-pointer of the season, while the Lady Monarchs held the Bucs to scoring drought that lasted the final 3:38. At the end of the first 10 minutes, Old Dominion held the 13-11.
ETSU opened the second period with the first bucket by Sadasia Tipps to knot the score at 13-13. ODU then went on a 7-2 spurt, capped by a Simms layup, to increase their lead to five points by the 6:45 mark. The Bucs responded and pulled within one point (20-19) one minute later, but the Lady Monarchs held their composure and closed the half with an 8-4 run to hold the 28-23 advantage at the half. The Lady Monarchs bench outscored the Bucs 16-8, while the defense held ETSU to a dismal 9.1 percent (1-11) from three-point land.
ODU continued to play strong defense and attack on the offensive end in the third period and led the Bucs by as many at 10 points (42-32). Brown once again led the attack with five points in the third period to go toward her 12 points. The Bucs would then use the fourth-quarter to establish the lead by outscoring the Lady Monarchs 20-10.
Shamauria Bridges paced ETSU with 17 points, while Chandler Christopher added 11 points, three assists and three steals.
UP NEXT FOR ODU
The Lady Monarchs will be back in action at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Old Dominion will first take on Maryland (Nov. 26 - 5:45 p.m.), followed by Pittsburgh (Nov. 27 - 8:00 p.m.) and South Dakota State (Nov. 28 5:45 p.m.). All three games will be streamed online on www.paradisejam.com and live stats will also be available.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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