NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 2, as the team takes on Loyola (Md.) in the fifth annual Education Day contest at 11:00 a.m. at the Ted Constant Center.
Students from 33 Norfolk Public Schools will participate in Education Day, an annual tradition on the Lady Monarchs' schedule that was started by head coach Karen Barefoot. This year’s game anticipates 7,030 school children to attend, almost 200 more than last season. Prior to tip-off, Granby Elementary School will perform the National Anthem, while Chesterfield Academy will take the stage at halftime.
Last season, the game marked the first ever sellout at the Ted Constant Center for the Old Dominion women’s basketball team. The crowd of 8,472 is the seventh highest attendance ever in the state of Virginia to watch a regular season college women’s basketball game. The attendance was also the second largest for a Lady Monarchs regular season game ever.
ABOUT ODU
The Lady Monarchs (1-6) will look to snap a five-game losing streak on Wednesday. ODU last fell to South Dakota State, 71-39, in its final game of the 2015 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The last time ODU went on a five-game losing streak happened over the first five games during the 2009-10 season.
This year, Jennie Simms leads the way with 18.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Keyana Brown chips in 8.4 points and a team-leading 2.0 three pointers per contest.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will meet for just the second time, with Loyola holding the 1-0 advantage over Old Dominion in the series that began in 2011. The two teams met in the 2011 Women’s National Invitational Tournament in the first round at the Ted Constant Center. Loyola drained a 3-point field goal with just over three seconds remaining in the game to lift the Greyhounds over Old Dominion, 67-65, on Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
The Greyhounds enter the matchup with a 2-4 overall record after falling to Columbia University on Saturday. Despite leading Columbia University into the third quarter, Loyola fell to the Lions, 63-53. The Greyhounds led for the entirety of the first half and up until the 1:58 mark of the third quarter, when the Lions used a 13-3 run to gain their first lead of the contest. Loyola was unable to come back from its third-quarter deficit, as the Lions outshot the Greyhounds, 26-18, in the fourth quarter. Bri Betz-White, sister of former Lady Monarch basketball player Ashley Betz-White, led the Greyhounds with 20 points, while senior Jeneh Perry recorded her second-straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
For the season, Betz-White and Colleen Marshall are averaging double figures in scoring. Betz-White is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game, which is ranked sixth among Patriot League competitors. Marshall is averaging 15.2 points per game, which is ranked ninth in the League. Perry leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game and is ranked seventh among Patriot League competitors in rebounds per game.
HOW TO TUNE IN
Wednesday’s contest will be video streamed live in HD through Monarch Media on ODUSports.com and will also air live on ESPN 94.1 FM with Doug Ripley on play-by-play and Susan Montgomery handling color duties.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow ODU Women’s Basketball on Twitter (@ODUWBB) and Instagram (@oduwbasketball) and ‘Like’ the ODU Lady Monarch Basketball on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news and coverage.