NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion (17-3, 7-1 C-USA) women's basketball team downed the Lady Eagles, 67-50 to register its 12th consecutive victory at the Chartway Arena on Thursday evening.
"I want to give Southern Miss a lot of credit," said head coach Nikki McCray. "I thought they did a really good job off starting this game. They gave us their best punch. I thought defensively they shut us down and owned us on the boards in a couple of the quarters. We're a team where we rebound the ball and you have someone like Ajah Wayne who is not in the game and rebounds the ball a lot for us, that's where we missed her."
Sophomore Aziah Hudson led the Monarchs with a game-high 15 points, while going four-for-four from beyond the arc. Senior Taylor Edwards added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Amari Young contributed 14 points.
The Monarchs got off to a rocky start, opening the contest trailing Southern Miss, 21-19. With three minutes left in the first quarter, ODU was down by 10 points but six points from Hudson and two from Edwards helped the Monarchs comeback within two points. In the second quarter ODU held the Lady Eagles (11-8, 3-5 C-USA) to single digits and just 23 percent. During those 10 minutes Hudson drained two of her four three-point field goals, which led ODU to a five-point lead to close out the first half.
Coming out of the break ODU outscored the Lady Eagles, 10-8, which was highlighted by five key points from Amaya Register. Register knocked down a trey and two free throws to give ODU a 45-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
ODU closed out play strong going on an 15-2 run in the final 4:21 of play. At the 7:58 mark of the fourth, freshman Marie Reichert knocked down her first career three to put ODU on the board in the final frame. Edwards recorded all seven of her fourth quarter points off free throws, going seven-for-10. Junior Victoria Morris also added six points to help ODU outscore the Lady Eagles, 22-12 in the final quarter.
"It was an ugly win but we found a way to win and we'll take it. The good thing about it is that we have another day to get better and correct some things. We had some mental lapses there but these are all things that are very fixable for our young basketball team. We weathered the storm and found a way to win."
Up Next
ODU takes on LA Tech on Saturday, Feb. 1 for a 2 PM tip in the Monarchs annual Alumni Game as well as Nationals Girl and Women in Sports Day. The game will be streamed on CUSA TV while Doug Ripley and Susan Montgomery have the call on ESPN Radio 94.1 beginning at 1:30 PM.
For the Monarchs game against the Lady Techsters, Aramark is providing a special package for kids in the 8th grade and below with the National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which includes one meal voucher and a post-game clinic with the Monarchs. Call 757-683-7087 to reserve your package today.
ODU Notes –
- Taylor Edwards recorded a season-high 8 assists.
- Edwards' 14 points and 10 boards is her first double-double this season.
- Marie Reichert notched her first career three-point field goal.
- First time this season Southern Miss has been held to single digits in two quarters.
- Amaya Register currently has a 93% free throw percentage.
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