NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team suffered a 54-45 defeat to Richmond on Sunday afternoon at the Ted Constant Center, as the Spiders used a 20-point third quarter to pull away late.
Old Dominion (0-6) led 21-19 at the half, the Monarchs' first halftime lead this season, but Richmond (5-3) outscored ODU, 20-7, in the third quarter en route to the nine-point victory.
"I thought it was a much better effort from a defensive standpoint," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "The third quarter really hurt us, but I thought this team grew up today. They fought, which is what I liked."
Due to the lop-sided third quarter, Richmond entered the fourth with a 39-28 lead. The Monarchs were able cut the lead to seven on multiple occasions, but the Spiders hit two big threes late to fend off any comeback attempt from ODU.
Defensively, the Monarchs held Richmond below their season scoring average by 25 points. The Spiders entered the game averaging nearly 80 points per game. ODU held Richmond to 36 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.
On the offensive end, Odegua Oigbokie led all scorers with a career-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Ashley Jackson added 14 points and eight boards.
Taylor Edwards added eight points and Jessica Munoz also netted a career high in points with five.
"We want to compete every single time out," said McCray. "We still have to continue to clean up our turnovers, box out and get better with our offensive consistency."
The Monarchs committed just 13 turnovers, two below their season average, but Richmond outscored ODU, 19-5, in points off turnovers.
The six-game losing streak for Old Dominion marks the longest streak to start a season in program history. The longest previous streak was a five-game losing skid in 2009-10.
Up next, Old Dominion hosts Coppin State on Thursday at 11 a.m. for the seventh annual Education Day game.
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