Old Dominion (5-3,2-2 C-USA) vs. Rice (8-1, 4-0 C-USA)
Game Info - Friday. Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. ET
Location - Chartway Arena (Norfolk, Va.)
Follow - CUSA.TV | ESPN+ (Saturday) | Live Stats | ESPN Radio 94.1 | Money Talk 1310
Game Notes - ODU | Rice
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion (5-3, 2-2 C-USA) women's basketball team continues C-USA action as it hosts defending C-USA regular season champions, Rice (8-1, 4-0) at Chartway Arena on Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.), Jan. 15-16. Friday's contest will be streamed on CUSA.TV, while Saturday's matchup is set to stream on ESPN+.
Both contests can be heard on the ODU Sports Radio Network with Friday's pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio 94.1 and Saturday's coverage starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Money Talk 1310.
Notables
- Last season, ODU faced Rice twice, splitting the series in two very-close contests. On 2/12/20, the Monarchs snapped Rice's 30-game Conference USA winning streak and gave ODU a share of the conference lead. In the rematch on 3/7/20, ODU went into the final quarter with a two-point lead over the Owls but was outscored 21-16 in the final period, falling 73-70. Rice won the C-USA regular season title after compiling a 16-2 C-USA record in 2019-20.
- Head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones picked up her first C-USA victory as well as her first road win last weekend.
- Ajah Wayne earned C-USA Player of the Week after a solid two-game performance against Florida Atlantic on the road, where she compiled back-to-back double-doubles, helping lead ODU to two-straight victories and back into the win column.
- Wayne now has 12 career double-doubles and four this season.
- The most recent set of NET Rankings were released by the NCAA on 1/15. ODU earned the 132nd spot.
- Four Monarchs are averaging double-figure scoring: Victoria Morris (17.3), Wayne (15.2) and Amari Young (15.1), Aziah Hudson (10.0).
- ODU and Rice have the top-two field goal percentages and rebounding defense in the league.
Series History
All-Time: ODU leads, 8-5
Last Meeting: L, 73-70 (3/7/20) at Rice
First Meeting: W, 85-49 (2/19/14) at Rice
Streak: L1
Scouting the Owls
The Owls are coming off a 55-43 win over UTEP on Saturday, Jan. 9. They are also winners of four-straight, which includes two wins over UTEP and two over UTSA to remain undefeated in Conference USA play. Earlier in the season, Rice dropped a contest to a tough Texas A&M team that was ranked No. 10 in the country by a 57-53 final score. On Dec. 5, Rice took down Texas Tech to notch its first win over a Power Five opponent in 14 years. The Owl squad received five votes in the latest AP Poll on Jan. 11.
Senior Nancy Mulkey leads the Owls offensively and defensively. She currently averages 14.7 ppg, 3.2 bpg and 8.1 rpg. Additionally, Mulkey leads the league in field goal percentage (58.5%).
Get in the Game!
Old Dominion athletics is providing Monarch Nation two opportunities to be involved in the 2020-21 basketball season virtually, as the athletic department is creating a virtual ticket, presented by the Virginia Lottery, that will allow fans to win various prizes, as well as the opportunity to purchase fan cutouts to be placed in Chartway Arena throughout the 2020-21 season, brought to you by Chartway Federal Credit Union. Proceeds from the sale of fan cutouts and virtual tickets will assist with paying for student-athlete scholarships.
With the purchase of a $20 virtual ticket, fans will receive one Virginia Lottery digital scratcher with the possibility to win, among other things, two season tickets for all ODU sports in 2021-22, use of a Chartway Arena suite for a basketball game in 2021-22, a $500 Harris Teeter gift card, a $500 Under Armour shopping spree, free Papa John's pizza, or Moe's Bucks to Moe's Southwest Grill.
The "Monarch Cutouts", presented by Chartway, are available for $59 and will be placed in camera-view seats. The cutouts will be in attendance at all ODU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Be on the lookout during games because your Monarch Cutout could be featured on the game broadcast or ODU Basketball social media.
Monarch Cutouts are now also available for spring sports.
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