NORFOLK, Va. -- Head coach Karen Barefoot earned her 300th career victory as the Old Dominion women's basketball team rallied to defeat former CAA rival VCU, 70-60, on Friday evening at the Ted Constant Center.
"I hadn't even thought about the 300 wins," said head coach Karen Barefoot. "I think that's why when I looked up and saw that, I really was in tears. I'm blessed to be able to share that awesome moment with these fans and our players. That's a moment I will never forget."
Trailing 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter, Old Dominion (4-3) used a 10-0 run to pull away from VCU (5-5, 0-1 A-10), who had led for all but three minutes through the opening three quarters. Overall, the Lady Monarchs outscored the Rams, 22-11, in the final quarter.
Jennie Simms led all scorers with 29 points and added 11 rebounds and five assists. Destinee Young recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Gianna Smith also contributed 12 points. Young also tied a career high with five blocks.
The Rams jumped out to an early lead with a 10-0 run in the opening quarter. VCU increased its lead to as many as 10 in the first half, but Simms scored 11 second-quarter points to help the Lady Monarchs cut the lead to 32-30 at the half.
Late in the third quarter, a Smith layup gave ODU its first lead of the game since the opening two minutes, but the Rams closed the quarter with a small run to lead 49-48 going into the fourth. Simms and Smith then connected on back-to-back three-pointers to ignite the 10-0 ODU run that clinched the victory.
At the free throw line, ODU connected on 23-of-31 free throws, while the Rams were just 7-of-10 from the line. VCU held a 44-43 advantage on the boards, but, defensively, the Lady Monarchs forced 14 VCU turnovers, while ODU committed 11.
"We knew it was going to be a battle," said Barefoot. "We knew it was going to be battle until the end and that it was going to come down to free throws and we've been working on that. I thought that we took care of it at the line and were really able to pull away."
The Lady Monarchs now lead the all-time series, 58-16.
UP NEXT
The Lady Monarchs have an eight-day hiatus before hosting Hampton on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m. For tickets, visit YNotTix.com.