By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's basketball team staged a frantic comeback, erasing a 16-point George Washington advantage and retaking the lead with just over two minutes left.
But then GW's Sheslanie Laureano worked herself open from the left corner and drained a 3-point shot with 6.4 seconds left to lift the Colonials past ODU, 47-45, Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.
The loss ended a three-game home stand that opened the season for ODU (2-1). And unlike Sunday's 57-44 victory over Auburn, the Monarchs were outshot, outrebounded and at times out hustled by GW (2-2).
ODU made just six of 32 shots in the second and third quarters and missed nine of 15 foul shots for the game.
"It was a game of ebbs and flows and some of the ebbs were very deep," ODU coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said.
"You've got to give GW credit. They came into a tough environment and got a tough win.
"The young lady hit a big shot. Kudos to them."
There were also some deep ebbs for GW (2-2), which had a six-minute scoring drought broken by Laureano's basket.
Ajah Wayne led ODU with 12 points and four assists, and Amari Young had eight points and 12 rebounds.
Iggy Allen, the standout transfer from Florida Atlantic, had nine points and eight rebounds, but had a tough shooting night, making just 3 of 13 shots.
ODU was outrebounded, 42-39, a stat that Milton-Jones called "upsetting, because we're supposed to be a good rebounding team."
"We gave them that game honestly because we had too many defensive slip ups and gave them too many second-chance points," Young added.
ODU trailed by 11 early in the fourth quarter when the Monarchs began their rally. Wayne made a 3-pointer, and Allen and Young short jump shots to trim the lead to four, 42-38, with 8:17 left.
Brianna Jackson, the Miami (Fla.) transfer and Princess Anne High School alumnus, made a layup to cut the lead to one, 44-43, with 2:50 left. Wayne then made two free throws to give ODU its first lead since the first half, 45-44, with 2:11 left.
But on its two next possessions, ODU had a shot clock violation and a turnover preceding Laureano's game winner.
Allen then missed a jump shot with two seconds left. Kaye Clark rebounded and although she made a follow shot, it came a split second after the final buzzer.
Powered by its fast break, ODU bolted to an early lead, with Wayne's jumper making it 9-2 midway through the first quarter. But then the Monarchs went stone cold against an aggressive GW man-for-man defense.
The Colonials outscored ODU, 16-4, during 10-minute stretch to take a 27-19 lead on a fallway jump shot by Aurea Gingras with 2:24 left in the half.
ODU made just two of 16 shots (14.3 percent) in the second quarter. Gingras made a layup, was fouled and made the foul shot to build the lead to 16, 39-23, with 5:39 left in the third period.
Essence Brown made a jumper that gave the Colonials a 12-point lead, 41-29, with three seconds left in the third quarter.
"This one loss does not define us, nor does it define the rest of our season," Milton-Jones said. "What it will do is that it will be our fuel that will allow us to progress through the rest of the season."
The Monarchs next play at VCU at 1 p.m. Sunday in the first of five games away from Chartway Arena. The Rams are the defending Atlantic 10 champions.
After Thanksgiving, ODU travels to Katy, Texas for a three-game stretch Nov. 26-28 in the Van Chancellor Classic in which they will face St. Joseph's, Texas Tech and Stetson. They then travel to William & Mary on Dec. 5.
"There's something different about when you lose the way we did, after fighting back and then losing the game by two points," Milton-Jones said.
"It stings a little bit differently. I'm hoping that will rub us the wrong way so that we can take that edge on the road."
Game Notes
- Amari Young grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. Those eight offensive boards are one off her career high of nine, which she had as part of a 15-point, 24-rebound double-double over WKU in last season's C-USA Tournament.
- The Monarchs missed 11 of their final 12 shot attempts in the first half, going almost seven minutes without a basket in the second quarter. During that drought, the Colonials went on a 14-2 run.
- ODU shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from the field in the fourth quarter and held the Colonials to 18.2-percent shooting in the period. The Monarchs outscored GW 16-6 over the final 10 minutes.
- Sheslanie Laureano's game-winning 3-pointer broke a scoreless spell of 6:17 for GW. The Colonials missed six shots in a row during that span as the Monarchs went on a 7-0 run.
- Ajah Wayne scored six of her team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter, making her only field goal attempt and going 3-of-4 from the foul line.
- Kaye Clark was active on the defensive end with a game-high three steals and two blocks. She leads the Monarchs with eight steals in their first three games (2.7 per game).
- Brianna Jackson had a season-high eight points on 4-of-9 shooting with three blocks. She now has seven blocks this season and entered the evening ranked second in the conference in blocks per game.
ODU Women's Basketball Team Rallies But Then Falls to George Washington, 47-45
