NORFOLK, Va. – The 2015-15 women’s basketball season is here and the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs begin with an exhibition game against Davis & Elkins on Wednesday night. The game will take place at the Ted Constant Center with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m.
Old Dominion enters the 2015-16 season coming off a successful 21-win season under the guidance of Barefoot, in which the Lady Monarchs registered victories over teams like Virginia and Virginia Tech as well as took the crown at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. In ODU's annual Education Day game on Dec. 3, the Ted Constant Center saw the program's first sellout with 8,472 fans in attendance. The crowd was the seventh highest attendance ever in the state of Virginia to watch a regular season women's basketball game and the second largest for a Lady Monarch regular season game. The record was set on Feb. 20, 1981 when the Norfolk Scope drew 10,277 fans.
As a team, ODU topped the Conference USA rankings in field-goal percentage defense (37.7) and defensive rebounds (28.6 p/g). The Lady Monarchs made a run to the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament and earned their third consecutive at-large bid to the WNIT, winning seven of their last 10 games.
Barefoot added six new players to the team this season and welcomes back eight, including Jennie Simms, the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. Simms concluded the season averaging 19.3 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per contest. She ranked second in the league in scoring, which also ranked in the top-35 in the nation, and fifth in rebounds. The Lady Monarchs also welcome back juniors Destinee Young (7.1ppg, 6.5rpg) and Annika Holopainen (3.0ppg, 1.3rpg).
The Davis & Elkins Senators, who hail from Elkins, W. Va., are beginning their third season as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). Last season, the Senators went 13-14 and 8-8 in conference play en route to a fourth place finish in the G-MAC under the direction of head coach Jason Asbell.
The Senators return two of their top five scorers, including G-MAC all-conference honoree Stephanie Wooten. She averaged 10.3 points, 6.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per contest during her sophomore season. Mary Jane Braham (5.2ppg, 3.1rpg) also returns for D&E.
After Wednesday’s contest, the Lady Monarchs will be back in action in their regular season opener on Friday, Nov. 13 when they take on Richmond at 3 p.m. at the Robins Center.
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