NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs fell to the LA Tech Lady Techsters, 69-51, on Thursday night at the Ted Constant Center. With the loss, ODU fell to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA, while the Lady Techsters improved their record to 6-7 and 1-1 in league play.
Simms paced ODU with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Ashley Jackson added six points and two boards. Destinee Young also added five points and eight rebounds for the Lady Monarchs.
The Lady Techsters took the early lead over the Lady Monarchs and held the 6-0 advantage by the 6:19 mark. Simms ended the scoring drought for ODU with a layup 35 seconds later, but the LA Tech defense held the Lady Monarchs scoreless for the next 3:51 to take an eight-point lead (10-2). Old Dominion then went on a 7-0 spurt, while holding the Lady Techsters scoreless for 3:44 and forced three turnovers to pull within three points at the end of the first quarter (12-9).
LA Tech came out firing at the start of the second quarter, going 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe during the first six minutes to increase its lead to 16 points (31-15). The Lady Monarchs responded with a run of their own, putting together an 11-5 spurt capped by a Simms free-throw to pull within 10 points at the half.
ODU shot 46.7 percent from the floor in the second quarter, after a dismal 18.8 percent in the first quarter to average 32.3 percent for the first half. Simms led the offense with nine points and five rebounds, while Brooke Pomroy led the Lady Techsters with 12 first half points.
Both teams traded baskets over the first six minutes of the third quarter, but both the Lady Monarchs and the Lady Techsters could not find the bottom of the net during the last four minutes, as ODU trailed LA Tech 46-38 with the final 10 minutes left to play. The Lady Techsters started to pull away from Old Dominion in the final period, outscoring the Lady Monarchs 23 to 13 to secure the victory.
For the game, LA Tech shot 47.8 percent from the floor (22-46), while the Lady Monarchs were held to just 29.0 percent (20-69). The Lady Techsters also held a slight advantage in rebounds, grabbing 41 boards compared to ODU’s 40. The Lady Techsters also out-scored ODU 34 to 13 in bench points.
LA Tech was led by Brandi Wingate’s 23 points and seven rebounds, while Pomroy added 18 points and four assists. Jasmine Leblanc also reach double-figures for LA Tech, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
UP NEXT FOR ODU
Old Dominion will face Southern Miss on Saturday at the Ted Constant Center for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.The game will be streamed on the C-USA Digital Network and through Monarch Media, while being broadcast on ESPN 94.1 FM.
Saturday’s contest marks the annual ‘Military Appreciation Night’ for Old Dominion women’s basketball, a night to honor and thank all local military members, veterans, and their families. The team will be donning camouflage shooting-shirts and socks, while the coaching staff will wear the colors of all the branches of the armed services. The TRADOC Herald Trumpets will once again be performing the National Anthem.
ODU will provide a limited number of complimentary tickets through the ‘Tickets for Troops’ program that was created to recognize the contribution of active and retired military in Hampton Roads and their families. Complementary Troops tickets are available at www.odusports.com/troops. If you miss the complimentary ticket window, all military who present an active or retired military ID at the ticket windows the day of the game will be admitted for only $5 to the contest. For other ticket inquiries please contact the Group Sales office at (757) 683-7087.
SOCIA MEDIA
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