NORFOLK, Va. -- Despite a career-high 17 points from Ashley Jackson, the Old Dominion women's basketball team fell to WKU, 67-62, on Saturday afternoon at the Ted Constant Center in snowy Norfolk.
"It really came down to some of the unforced turnovers," said head coach Karen Barefoot. "When you look at film, you have no room for error with Western Kentucky. They are a solid program and you really have to take care of the ball, especially at crucial times."
Destinee Young recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds for Old Dominion (7-8, 2-2 C-USA), while Jennie Simms added 13 points. Off the bench, Carolina Bernardeco recorded five points and four assists.
WKU (11-5, 3-1 C-USA) led 17-13 at the end of the opening quarter, as the Lady Monarchs committed eight first-quarter turnovers. ODU then opened the second with a 10-2 run to take a 23-19 lead early in the quarter. WKU responded with a 13-3 rally to regain the lead at 32-26 late in the second.
The Lady Toppers carried a 32-28 lead in the half, as Old Dominion shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, but committed 13 turnovers.
In the second half, WKU extended its lead to as much as seven late in the third quarter, as the Lady Toppers carried a 53-48 lead into the fourth. The Lady Monarchs opened the fourth with a 10-3 run to close the gap to 58-56 with under six minutes to play.
A Micah Jones triple extended the WKU lead to six at 64-58 with 2:12 remaining, but the Lady Monarchs closed the game to two with 24 seconds to go on a Simms layup. Following the bucket, Kendall Noble hit a pair of free throws for WKU and ODU could not convert on the other end, as the Lady Toppers held on for the 67-62 victory.
Overall, ODU outrebounded WKU, 34-31, but the Lady Monarchs committed 21 turnovers to WKU's 16. The Lady Monarchs shot 49 percent from the field, while WKU shot 43.5 percent.
Ivy Brown and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers led the Lady Toppers with 17 points each and Noble, the 2015-16 Conference USA Player of the Year, added 13 points and six assists.
"I appreciate all of the fans who walked here and could make it here," said Barefoot. "They made a difference and cheered us on. It was different not having our normalf fanbase, because it is so high-energy in here."
UP NEXT
Old Dominion travels to Southern Miss and LA Tech next weekend. The Lady Monarchs take on the Golden Eagles on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the Lady Techsters on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed on CUSA.tv.