Minium: Much Improved ODU Women Hope to Beat WKU Thursday Night for the First Time Since 1990

By Harry Minium
When Nikki McCray-Penson was introduced as Old Dominion University's new women's basketball coach almost three years ago, she appeared to be the right person to rebuild the once mighty Monarchs.

She was personable, enthusiastic and self-confident. But the kicker was her prodigious resume.

A two-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year at Tennessee, she played professionally for 11 seasons. She was the MVP of the old American Basketball League and was a three-time All-WNBA pick.

She won Olympic Gold medals in 1996 and 2000 was Dawn Staley's top assistant coach when the Gamecocks won the 2017 NCAA title.

And did I mention she's been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame?

I was a little awe struck when I first spoke to her, as was Victoria Morris, then a high school senior in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Morris had other Division I offers, but when she heard from McCray, it didn't take her long to decide ODU would be her choice.

"When someone calls you like that, you want to say all the right things," she said. "I read about all of her accolades and knew she would lead me in the right direction.

"I wanted to be a champion like her."

Morris and ODU indeed appear headed in that direction.

After a nightmarish 8-23 record in McCray's first season – the Monarchs had too few players and too little talent or experience to win -- they were 21-11 last season and made the Womens' NIT.

ODU enters Thursday's game with Western Kentucky (6:30 p.m., ESPN+) at Chartway Arena with a 12-3 record, the highest NCAA RPI ranking in Conference USA (44) and a score to settle.

WKU (10-5, 2-2 C-USA) knocked the Monarchs out of the conference tournament last year, and ODU (12-3, 2-1 C-USA) hasn't beaten the Hilltoppers since 1990.

This will be WKU's first time playing at Chartway Arena since McCray was named head coach.

"It will be good to play them on our home court," McCray said.

WKU has won 11 in a row against ODU, and is one of C-USA's established powerhouses. WKU won league titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

The Monarchs knocked off Middle Tennessee, another C-USA blue blood, on the road on Jan. 2. The Blue Raiders won titles in 2014 and 2016.

Beating Western would be another step forward in ODU's march to what the Monarchs hope will be a conference championship.

McCray has rebuilt her roster by recruiting from across the east. She has players from seven states, including three each from Alabama and two from Georgia, in addition to Marie Reichert, a freshman from Germany. There are just two seniors on her 13-player roster.

The Monarchs were hindered in preseason workouts by injuries to two players and have won this season with a blue-collar work ethic rather than a well-oiled offense.

The offense just hasn't had enough time to become cohesive, she said.

"I don't know if we're good," McCray said. "We're solid. We haven't reached our peak yet.

"I'm happy because we're doing the things we need to do to win. We have experience. But the flow isn't there yet. You see glimpses of it, but we need to be smoother and better." 

McCray has a lot of respect for WKU, where she started her coaching career in 2006 and was the recruiting coordinator for two seasons. The Hilltoppers went to the WNIT Final Four in 2007 and won the Sun Belt and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2008.

McCray met ODU athletic director Wood Selig at WKU, and without the relationship they established then, who knows if Selig would have hired her nearly a decade later. 

Although the Monarchs appear much improved, that hasn't yet shown up in attendance, which is about the same as last season. ODU is playing a little earlier on both weeknights and weekends to attract families.

ODU has been targeting families with its promotions, including having a KidZone, with inflatables and face painters, for most Saturday games. Time will only tell if that helps.
I hope it does because this is a fun team to watch.

McCray credits the 1,818 fans on Saturday when the Monarchs rallied from a nine-point deficit with an 11-0 fourth quarter run to beat Charlotte, 54-51.

"We don't win that game without the people who were here," McCray said. "Our fans willed us back. We were down most of the game and found a way to win and our players were energized by the crowd.

"When people come see us play, they are really going to enjoy it. They are going to see players they can identify with and fall in love with just because they are great kids and they play so hard.

"What's not to like about that?"

Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu