RICHMOND, Va. -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs traveled to Richmond, Va. to take on old CAA rival Virginia Commonwealth University on Saturday night, but fell to the Rams by a 74-54 margin at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
Destinee Young led the Lady Monarchs (3-7) with 14 points and four rebounds, while Keyana Brown added 13 points and five boards of her own. Annika Holopainen also scored in double figures for ODU, chipping in 10 points. Carolina Bernardeco led ODU once again in assists, dishing out six helpers on the night.
The Lady Monarchs played evenly with the 9-2 Rams in the first quarter and only trailed by five points after the first 10 minutes of play. Brown and Young led ODU with seven and five points, respectively.
The Rams held the Lady Monarchs to just 4-of-10 shooting from the field in the second period and saw their lead grow to as much as 14 points (33-19). ODU kept attacking and got a three-pointer from Brown and a layup from Holopainen in the final minute to enter the intermission down 35-24. Brown led the Lady Monarchs with 10 points, while Young added eight points, two rebounds and a steal.
VCU opened the third period with a 13-4 run to take an eighteen-point (48-30) lead by the 4:49 mark in the third period. Young closed the period with four points for ODU, but the Rams still held the 20-point edge over the Lady Monarchs going into the final period. Old Dominion scored a game-high 18 points in the fourth period, but the Rams matched the Lady Monarchs scoring output and held on for the double-digit victory.
For the game, VCU out-rebounded Old Dominion 43-25 and forced the Lady Monarchs into 19 turnovers. ODU shot 41.2 percent from the floor (21-51), while the Rams connected on 27-of-62 to hold a 43.5 shooting percentage.
The Rams were led by Courteeona Brelove, who notched a double-double with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds. Jessica Ogunnorin (12), Adaeze Alaeze (12), Chadarryl Clay (11) and Ashley Pegram (10) also scored in double-digits for the Rams.
UP NEXT FOR THE LADY MONARCHS
Old Dominion is back on the road next week, as the team heads to Maryland Eastern Shore to take on the Hawks on Dec. 22 at 2:00 p.m. The Lady Monarchs are 2-1 overall against UMES and 1-0 on the road. Last season, ODU defeated the Hawks 82-57 at home.
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