NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team fell to Charlotte, 86-75, on Saturday afternoon on Military Appreciation Day at the Ted Constant Center.
"We fought hard, but we came up short," said head coach Karen Barefoot. "We worked in practice all week on transition defense and the little things and again it was just a few things we didn't capitalize on or let them have possessions back. We'll look back on film and say all we had to do was take care of the ball."
Old Dominion (8-10, 3-4 C-USA) was led by Jennie Simms, who tallied a game-high 33 points to go along with 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Destinee Young added eight points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while Annika Holopainen notched season highs in points and rebounds with seven and six, respectively.
Charlotte (14-4, 6-1 C-USA) jumped out to an early lead and carried a 19-13 advantage into the second quarter, as the Lady Monarchs shot just 26.3 percent in the opening segment. Simms, who scored 10 second-quarter points, helped ignite a 7-0 Lady Monarch run to open the second quarter, as ODU grabbed a brief 20-19 lead at the eight-minute mark.
However, Charlotte closed the first half on an 8-0 run to lead 39-30 at the half. The 49ers held ODU scoreless for the final 3:16 of the half. Overall, Charlotte shot 45 percent in the half, while ODU shot just 33 percent.
In the second half, ODU again opened a quarter with a 7-0 run, cutting the lead to 39-37 early in the third. However, Charlotte utilized an 8-0 rally midway through the quarter to extend its lead back to nine at 49-40. Keyana Brown connected on a pair of late-quarter triples to help ODU cut the Charlotte lead to 56-53 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, ODU was able to close the gap to two at 60-58 with 7:37 remaining, but Charlotte once again answered with an 8-0 run and would lead by double digits for the final four minutes.
"We missed easy layups. We had our opportunities," said Barefoot. "Give them credit, they played hard and they can shoot the ball well. We just have to do a better job overall. We need to have more players confident in shooting the ball."
Overall, ODU outrebounded Charlotte, 44-39, including a 22-12 advantage on the offensive glass. However, the Lady Monarchs shot 39.7 percent from the field, while the 49ers shot 47.5 percent, including 50.0 percent from three.
Norfolk native Lefty Webster led the 49ers with 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Grace Hunter also added 25 points and nine boards.
UP NEXT
Old Dominion remains at home for games against Rice and North Texas next weekend. The Lady Monarchs host Rice on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. followed by North Texas on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at YNotTix.com.