NORFOLK, Va. -- In front of 8,472 screaming fans, the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs snapped their five-game losing streak and defeated Loyola, 64-41, on Wednesday morning at the Ted Constant Center in the fifth annual Education Day game.
The 8,472 fans marked the second-consecutive Education Day sellout for the Lady Monarchs and tied the record for the seventh highest attendance in the state of Virginia to watch a regular season college women’s basketball game.
Junior Destinee Young led the offense with her fourth career double-double. She finished the game with 28 points and 15 boards, breaking her previous career-highs for points (20) and rebounds (13). Annika Holopainen added 17 points and four rebounds, while Carolina Bernardeco scored her first collegiate points and finished the game with seven points and six assists.
The first quarter proved to be an even battle, as the first 10 minutes ended with ODU holding a slight 10-8 advantage over the Greyhounds. The Lady Monarchs held Loyola to 1-for-12 shooting (8.3%), but the Greyhounds went 6-for-6 from the foul line. ODU went 5-for-15 from the floor and were led offensively by six points and five rebounds from Young in 10 minutes of action.
Old Dominion picked up the pace in the second quarter and started to pull away, outscoring Loyola 22-6. Young once again led the charge with 11 points and three boards to bring her half time total to 17 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Monarchs forced the Greyhounds into seven turnovers and just 15.4 percent shooting (4-26), while ODU shot 55.6 percent (15-27) in the first half to hold the 32-14 lead at the intermission.
Loyola outscored the Lady Monarchs 17-13 in the third period, but it was not enough to overcome the double-digit deficit and still trailed ODU by 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter. Old Dominion continued to stifle the Loyola offense and outscored the Greyhounds 19-10 in the final period to secure the victory.
For the game, ODU held a 37-31 advantage in rebounds and dished out a season-high 19 assists. Every player notched at least an assist for the Lady Monarchs, led by Bernardeco’s six. ODU finished the contest shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, while Loyola was held to 27.3 percent and 15.4 percent from the three-point line.
UP NEXT FOR ODU
The Lady Monarchs will take a 12-day break from competition before heading to Howard to take on the Bison on Dec. 15 at 5:00 p.m. The Bison will play in three more games before facing the Lady Monarchs and currently hold a 0-7 overall record.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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