EL PASO, Texas – Led offensively by junior Victoria Morris and sophomore Amari Young, the Old Dominion (20-3, 10-1 C-USA) women's basketball team defeated UTEP, 77-69 on the road. The two student-athletes recorded 23 points en route to the Monarchs eight-point win over the Miners.
"All eight players persevered and came ready to play. I thought we had tremendous play from a lot of different people that stepped up at different times. Whether it was a rebound or a stop." explained Nikki McCray. "There were so many people that did different things that was timely and it was good to see in a special place like this."
In the opening frame of the contest, ODU and the Miners (13-9, 6-5 C-USA) traded field goals. The Monarchs went nine-for-16, while UTEP went eight-for-17. The difference maker for ODU were the five made free throws in the first quarter and two steals. In the second quarter, ODU got outscored by the Miners, 17-14. ODU shot just 27 percent, while UTEP knocked down six of its 14 attempts in the field goal department. With the Miner scoring surge late in the second quarter, the two went in to halftime tied 40-40.
Coming out of the break Morris added two from beyond the arc to keep the Monarchs ahead. In the third quarter there were two lead changes. The Monarch defense held UTEP to not one three-point field goal during that 10-minute exchange. To close out the contest, ODU shot 50 percent, downing two from beyond the arc, credited both to Morris. Young, Morris and Aziah Hudson all grabbed steals, resulting in five points off UTEP turnovers. South Carolina native Young added nine points in the fourth, six of the nine points were field goals.
"We wanted to keep them fresh. When people got into foul trouble that changed some things but it was great to see people play through the fatigue. Overall it was a team effort."
Up Next
In a highly anticipated matchup, the Monarchs host reigning C-USA Champions Rice at the Chartway Arena on Thursday at 6:30 pm.
ODU Notes –
- Career-high 23 points for Amari Young
- Career-high 11 rebounds for Ashley Scott
- The Saturday win marked ODU's ninth consecutive win.
- ODU fought foul trouble, three of the Monarchs eight players in the game had four personal fouls.