BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs dropped a 68-51 Conference USA contest to the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers on Thursday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Monarchs fell to 7-11 overall and an even 3-3 in Conference USA play, while the Lady Toppers improved to 15-2 overall 6-0 in league play.
Jennie Simms once again led ODU with 18 points to go along with her five rebounds and five assists. Destinee Young also added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Keyana Brown chipped in 10 points. Makayla Timmons finished the game with seven points, two rebounds and three assists.
After winning the tip, the Lady Monarchs scored on their first possession after Simms hit a long two pointer 27 seconds into the contest. The Lady Toppers then went on an 11-0 run to hold a nine-point advantage with 6:16 left to play in the first quarter. Timmons broke the drought for ODU with a three-pointer 26 seconds later, but the Lady Toppers put together another double-digit run (10-0) later in the period to hold the 24-12 lead going into the second quarter. Simms led the way for ODU scoring nine of the 12 points and pulling down three of the six rebounds for the Lady Monarchs.
ODU continued its shooting woes in the second quarter (7-for-16), only scoring two more points than in the first quarter. However, five different players contributed offensively for the Lady Monarchs instead of just two. Old Dominion did start to take better care of the ball and only turned the ball over twice compared to eight times in the first quarter. At halftime, the Lady Monarchs trailed WKU 38-26, behind 11 points from the foul line for the Lady Toppers.
The Lady Monarchs were held to just 5-for-9 shooting in the third period and fell behind by as many as 15 points during the quarter. After five-consecutive points in a span of 59 seconds, Old Dominion pulled within nine points (46-37) with 3:19 left in the period. WKU used a 6-2 spurt in the final 1:50 to hold a 13-point edge over the Lady Monarchs going into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Toppers started to pull away, taking their largest lead of the contest (68-48) with 1:16 left in the game. ODU was held scoreless for 4:56 and were outscored 14-10, as WKU secured the 68-51 victory.
For the game, ODU shot 38.8 percent from the floor (19-49), while WKU went 25-for-58 for 43.1 percent. The Lady Toppers out-rebounded ODU, 37-31, and forced the Lady Monarchs into 22 turnovers. WKU scored 29 of its 68 points off an ODU turnover and 36 points in the paint.
Three players led WKU with 14 points apiece, as Tashia Brown, Ivy Brown and Dee Givens each reached 14 points. Ivy Brown also added eight rebounds, while Taylor Brown chipped in eight points and seven boards. Kendall Noble was the only other Lady Topper to reach double figures, as she finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists.
UP NEXT FOR ODU
The Lady Monarchs will return to action on Saturday against the Marshall Thundering Herd. The game is set to start at 1:00 p.m. and can be watched on HERDZONE.com or listened to on STAR 1310 AM and Monarch Media.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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