LAS VEGAS -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team dropped its opening game of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic to Oakland, 80-59, on Thursday at South Point Arena.
Victoria Morris led Old Dominion (1-9) with 20 points, tying her career high, and Odegua Oigbokie added 15 points and eight rebounds, but the Monarchs committed a season-high 21 turnovers and Oakland (6-4) shot 46 percent from the field to secure the victory.
"21 turnovers. It's hard to win basketball games when you turn the ball over that much," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "We talked about that and we have to clean that up."
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, as Oakland led, 13-9, at the end of one with both teams shooting below 30 percent in the opening quarter. However, the Golden Grizzlies broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring ODU, 25-12, in that frame.
Oakland, leading 38-21 at the half, then maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.
ODU shot 32 percent as a team to Oakland's 46 percent, while the Golden Grizzlies held a slight 39-37 advantage on the boards. ODU had 13 offensive rebounds and outscored Oakland, 10-7, on second-chance points.
"I was really proud of our effort in rebounding," said McCray. "We got outrebounded by two against a team that is really good on the boards."
On the glass, six different Monarchs recorded three or more rebounds, led by Oigbokie's game-high eight. In the scoring column, Ashley Jackson joined Morris and Oigbokie in double figures with 11 points.
Oakland was led by Taylor Jones' 20 points.
"The positives are that we did not quit and we fought hard," said McCray. "It just took us a minute to get going and start hitting shots. We just have to take care of the ball."
Up next, ODU takes on Abilene Christian tomorrow at 5:15 p.m. ET in the final game of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
FOLLOW ODU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow @ODUWBB on Twitter for the latest updates on the Monarchs.