NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 57-55 win over WKU on Friday night at Chartway Arena. ODU held WKU back with a 5-2 run in the final two minutes of play to pull away for its 11th all-time win over the Lady Toppers.
"Tonight was another hard-fought battle. We are finally learning from all of the losses we took and the mistakes we were making in late game situations, on the offensive or defensive side," ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "Tonight we gave up some rebounds but the ones we really needed we were able to our hands on to secure the victory."
Amari Young gave ODU a one-point lead at 54-53 with just over a minute remaining, but Raneen Elgedawy put WKU back on top 55-54 with 37 seconds left. Young followed with a pair of free throws to give the Monarchs a 56-55 lead. Mariah Adams added a free throw and the Monarchs hung on for the 57-55 win.
With the win, ODU clinched sixth place in the C-USA East Division. The two teams will play for the third-consecutive time on Tuesday in the first round of the C-USA Tournament.
The two teams traded baskets the opening four minutes of the first quarter. A Victoria Morris three-point field goal broke open the game for ODU, compiling a 15-6 run to close out the first quarter. ODU went into the second quarter with a 17-10 lead over the Lady Toppers.
The Lady Toppers opened up second-quarter play with an immediate 10-0 run to take a 20-17 lead over ODU. Maggie Robinson responded for the Monarchs (10-10, 7-9 C-USA) with a triple, knotting the game, 20-20 with 6:09 left to play before the break. ODU and WKU traded baskets, until the Lady Toppers put together a 7-2 scoring run as ODU struggled to find the bottom of the net. WKU took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
ODU built back its lead in the third quarter as the Monarchs jumped out to a 35-31 lead following an 11-2 run. The Lady Toppers (7-15, 6-10 C-USA) clawed back to get within one to make it a 38-37 game with 4:23 left in the third quarter. It wasn't long until ODU regained its momentum with a Morris bucket, which resulted in a 9-2 scoring run to close the third quarter and head into the fourth frame with a 47-39 lead over WKU.
The fourth quarter became a skirmish as WKU fought back from its eight-point deficit and opened the quarter with back-to-back buckets. Morris knocked down a triple at the 6:21 mark to regain ODU's pace and open a seven-point lead. The Lady Toppers then responded with a 10-2 run, which gave them a one-point lead with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter. ODU's defense held strong, holding the Lady Toppers to just two more points the rest of the way.
Young matched her career-high 24 rebounds and etched her eighth double-double of the season, adding 16 points on the evening. Morris led all scorers with 20 points, going 8-for-19 from the field, adding four from beyond the arc.
C-USA Standings
East
| Middle Tennessee | 11-5 | 0.688 | 13-8 | 0.619 |
| Charlotte | 8-5 | 0.615 | 9-9 | 0.500 |
| Florida Atlantic | 8-7 | 0.533 | 10-9 | 0.526 |
| FIU | 8-8 | 0.500 | 12-11 | 0.522 |
| Marshall | 8-8 | 0.500 | 9-9 | 0.500 |
| Old Dominion | 7-9 | 0.438 | 10-10 | 0.500 |
| WKU | 6-10 | 0.375 | 7-15 | 0.318 |
West
| Rice | 12-1 | 0.923 | 16-2 | 0.889 |
| UTEP | 13-5 | 0.722 | 16-7 | 0.696 |
| North Texas | 9-4 | 0.692 | 12-6 | 0.667 |
| Louisiana Tech | 8-8 | 0.500 | 13-9 | 0.591 |
| Southern Miss | 5-11 | 0.313 | 7-11 | 0.389 |
| UAB | 3-11 | 0.214 | 9-12 | 0.429 |
| UTSA | 0-14 | 0.000 | 2-17 | 0.105 |
Up Next
ODU is set to compete in the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Women's Basketball Championship. The bracket will be released on Saturday, March 6 following the conclusion of the regular season games.