RICHMOND, Va. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start and suffered a 68-39 defeat at VCU on Wednesday evening at the Siegel Center.
"We just dug ourselves into a hole," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "We're limited in bodies and I thought fatigue played a factor in the second half."
VCU (1-6) utilized a big first quarter to gain an early advantage. The Rams outscored ODU, 19-2, in the first quarter and carried a 31-19 into halftime.
Old Dominion (1-8) closed the gap to 11 in the third quarter, but the Rams led by double digits for the final three quarters for the wire-to-wire victory.
"I thought the third quarter was our best quarter," said McCray. "We had a chance to cut it to eight, but then we gave up a big three."
Kelly Loftus led ODU with 11 points. Victoria Morris also finished in double figures with 10 points, giving the freshman her eighth double-digit scoring game through the first nine games of her career.
Overall, ODU shot 25 percent from the field, its lowest percentage of the season. VCU shot 46 percent from the field and also from beyond the arc.
"We have a break now and the kids have a couple days to rest their bodies," said McCray. "We just talked about coming back, self-evaluating and being different. Because it's been the same things. When we get tired, we turn the ball over and we don't box out."
Up next, Old Dominion has over a week-long hiatus before playing at William & Mary on Dec. 17.
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