NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs are back in action at the Ted Constant Convocation Center this week, as the team takes on Florida Atlantic on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and FIU on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
HOW TO TUNE IN
Both contests will be streamed live on Monarch Media and the C-USA Digital Network.The game against Florida Atlantic on Thursday will also be broadcast live on STAR 1310 AM, while Saturday’s contest against FIU can be found on ESPN 94.1 FM.Live stats will be available for both games.
ALUMNI DAY/1,000 WINS CELEBRATION
A host of familiar Lady Monarch alumni will return on Jan. 30 for the ODU vs. FIU game, when the program celebrates surpassing 1,000 wins, becoming only the fourth women's basketball program in history to do so.
ODU surpassed 1,000 wins on Dec. 15 on the road with a win over Howard. The Jan. 30 celebration will include free 1,000-win T-shirts for the first 1,000 fans, and a star-studded welcome home for Lady Monarch alumni. Highlighting the cast of returnees is three-time national championship coach Marianne Stanley, Olympic gold medalist and Naismith and Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Anne Donovan, Wade Trophy winner and All American Ticha Penicheiro and her teammate and ODU Hall of Famer Nyree Roberts.
Fans can enjoy a meet and greet, post-game autograph reception with the alumni following the contest in the Big Blue Room, and are encouraged to bring ODU Lady Monarch basketball memorabilia to have signed (only one item per fan please). For tickets, go to www.YNOTTix.com.
ABOUT OLD DOMINION
The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs fell on the road to the Marshall Thundering Herd by an 80-62 margin on Sunday afternoon at the Cam Henderson Center, falling to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in Conference USA. Jennie Simms paced ODU with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Destinee Young added nine points and 10 rebounds. Ije Ajemba chipped in six points and eight boards, while Gianna Smith put up eight points for Old Dominion.
Simms is close to becoming the 32nd member of ODU’s 1,000-point club this season and just the six player to achieve that feat in two seasons and second under head coach Karen Barefoot. She is currently 12 points away for her career and 37 points away from achieving that in an Old Dominion uniform. She has accumulated 963 points at Old Dominion to go along with her 25 points at Wake Forest. Simms has averaged over 19 points per game in both of her seasons with the Lady Monarchs and has notched double figures 15 times this season and 47 times over her career.
Along with Simms, Young is the only other Lady Monarch averaging double-figures for ODU. She pours in 10.2 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per contest.
ABOUT FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Ali Gorrell’s third consecutive double-double propelled the Florida Atlantic women’s basketball team to a 64-51 Conference USA victory over UTSA on Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak for the Owls (11-7, 3-4 C-USA). Gorrell posted 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Kat Wright scored 13 and Morgan Robinson tallied 12 points.
Florida Atlantic is paced by three players in double-figures, with Gorrell leading the way with 16.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Wright adds 11.8 points and Robinson chips in 11.3 per game.
Kellie Lewis-Jay became the fourth head coach in the program's 28-year existence in May 2012. Last season, she led the youngest Division I team in the nation with eight freshmen, and only one third-year player, to a 13-17 mark, earning the No. 10 seed in the C-USA Tournament. The Owls finished the year ranked second in the conference in three-pointers made with 206 and in free throw shooting at .719.
ABOUT FIU
Despite outscoring league-leading UTEP by five over the final three quarters, the FIU women's basketball team was unable to knock off the Miners in a 69-57 home Conference USA loss on Saturday afternoon on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The Panthers dropped to 2-15, 0-7 in C-USA following the loss. Destini Feagin led the team with 14 points and added a game-high nine rebounds for FIU.
Taylor Shade leads the team with 14.6 points per game, while Tianah Alvarado adds 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest. Janka Hegedus is the only other Panther in double-digits, as she chips in 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds.
Marlin Chinn became he sixth head coach for the FIU women’s basketball program in April 2015. Chinn, who finished his sixth season as an assistant coach at Maryland last year, helped lead the Terrapins to a 34-3 record last season, a Big Ten Championship title, a No. 1 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and a Final Four appearance.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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