NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women’s basketball team is back in action this week, as the Lady Monarchs travel to Howard to take on the Bison on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 5:00 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium.
ABOUT ODU
The Lady Monarchs snapped a five-game losing streak on Dec. 2 by defeating Loyola (Md.) 64-41 on Education Day. The game proved to be the second-consecutive Education Day sellout for the Lady Monarchs, eclipsing over 8,400 fans. The 8,472 fans tied the record for the seventh highest attendance in the state of Virginia to watch a regular season college women’s basketball game. Destinee Young earned Conference USA Player of the Week Honor Roll accolades after scoring a career-high 28 points and pulling in another career-high 15 rebounds. Holopainen chipped in 17 points and four boards, while freshman Carolina Bernardeco led the team with six assists on the day.
Jennie Simms leads the team with 18.3 points per contest, while Young chips in 9.0 points and a team-leading 7.1 boards a game. The Lady Monarchs enter the contest with a 2-6 overall record, but are playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. After eight games, ODU’s schedule ranks 41st among 349 Division I NCAA programs.
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will meet for just the second time, with ODU holding the 1-0 advantage over Howard in the series that began in last season. In the 75-54 victory over the Bison on Education Day last season, four Lady Monarchs netted double figures, as Jennie Simms led the way with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Destinee Young recorded her first career double-double, as she went for 12 points to compliment a game high of 13 rebounds. Also in double figures for Old Dominion were Odegua Oigbokie (12 points) and Chelisa Painter (11 points, four rebounds and two steals).
SCOUTING THE BISON
The Bison enter the contest with a 2-9 overall record and are currently on a two-game winning streak. Behind a milestone performance from senior center Victoria Gonzales, the Howard women's basketball team earned its second straight victory with a 62-49 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.
Gonzales, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) scoring leader, erupted for a career-high 33 points to lead the Bison to a 62-49 win over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon at The Mount's Knott Arena. The Atlanta native shot 15-of-24 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to surpass her previous benchmark of 26 points against LIU Brooklyn on November 22.
For the season, Gonzales leads the team with 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, while Johnson adds 14.3 points and 5.3 boards per contest. Even with missing a game due to injury, Gonzales has scored in double figures in all ten games she has played this year.
HOW TO TUNE IN
Wednesday’s contest will air live on STAR 1310 AM 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.