PHILADELPHIA – The Old Dominion women's basketball team showcased perseverance in a 71-68 win at Temple on Wednesday. The Monarchs (10-2) trailed for most of the first half and were down a point with 2:05 left to play before quickly regaining control of the lead for their eighth win in a row.
ODU won despite a poor-shooting day. The Monarchs made just 35.3 percent of their shots (24-of-68) and were 3-of-13 (.231) from deep. Old Dominion made up for the shooting struggles by collecting 23 offensive rebounds and scoring 22 second-chance points. In addition, the Monarchs turned the Owls (5-6) over 25, giving ODU an impressive 68-52 edge in shot attempts.
Iggy Allen led the way for ODU with 22 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Allen has reached the 20-point plateau in consecutive games and now has three games with at least 20 points this season. In addition, Wednesday's double-double was her third of the season. Joining Allen with a double-double was Ajah Wayne, who finished the game with 13 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Old Dominion started the game on a 6-2 run with baskets from Allen, Amari Young and Wayne, but the shots stopped falling as the Monarchs suffered a prolonged scoring drought of over four minutes. Mia Davis took control of the quarter while ODU struggled to hit shots, scoring 10 points in a 12-0 Temple run as the hosts went ahead 12-6. Young ended the Monarchs' dry spell with a layup just inside three minutes. Allen then sank a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left on the clock to pull ODU to within a point at 16-15, but the Owls ended the period with an exclamation point as Jalynn Holmes banked in a deep trey to beat the buzzer.
ODU shot just 36.8 percent in the first quarter. Allen accounted for seven of the Monarchs' 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting. The Owls made seven of their 13 attempts in the first and received 12 points from Davis.
The American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Davis finished the game with 25 points and six rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting but turned the ball over five times.
The Monarchs' shooting woes continued in the second quarter as ODU entered the break down 30-26. ODU shot just 21.4 percent (3-of-14) in the quarter. Despite the struggles from the field, the Monarchs whittled the deficit to two points on three occasions.
ODU turned a four-point halftime deficit into an eight-point advantage by the conclusion of the third quarter. The Monarchs hit the offensive boards with gusto in the quarter, collecting 12 offensive rebounds and scoring 10 second-chance points. Old Dominion scored the first six points of the period to go on top 32-30 – its first lead since the 5:51 mark of the first quarter. The Owls tied the score with 7:47 left in the period, but the Monarchs answered with another 6-0. Temple pulled back to within a point at 41-40 with 4:11 left in the quarter, but the Monarchs netted nine of the last 12 points of the quarter to go into the last period up 50-42.
Temple pushed back in the fourth quarter, shooting 10-of-18 from the floor and outscoring the Monarchs 26-21 in the fourth, but ODU hung on for its eighth win in a row. Old Dominion scored first in the fourth to go on top 52-42, its largest lead of the game. Davis scored four unanswered to tie the game at 57-all with 3:22 to play, but Kaye Clark responded with a steal and breakaway layup to put ODU on top again. After a foul shot by Jasha Clinton, Alexa Williamson scored a layup to give Temple a 60-59 lead with 2:05 remaining, but the Owls' lead lasted only 15 seconds as Wayne got a basket to put ODU ahead for good. The Monarchs entered the final minute of action up 64-62 and made seven of nine free throws to ice away the game.
The Monarchs begin conference play at home against FIU (Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m.) and Florida Atlantic (Jan. 1, 2 p.m.)
Game Notes
The eight-game win streak matches the longest win streak in head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones' coaching career. Her 2018-19 Pepperdine team won eight games in a row between Jan. 31 and Feb. 23.
Over the eight-game streak, the Monarchs are averaging 69.6 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting from the floor and 36.4 percent from 3-point range. ODU is outscoring opponents by 20.4 points per game during the streak, holding opponents to 49.3 points on .349 shooting from the field with 24.1 turnovers per game.
Temple turned the ball over 25 times, becoming the seventh opponent to commit 20 or more turnovers this season. ODU entered the game ranked 14th in the nation with 24.1 forced turnovers per game.
The Monarchs were credited with 18 steals on Wednesday, their sixth game with 15 or more steals this season. Mariah Adams had a career high with six steals, and Amari Young and Iggy Allen had three apiece.
Maria Adams finished the game with nine points and six assists off the bench. She was 5-of-6 from the line.
ODU matched a season high with seven blocks against the Owls. Brianna Jackson shared the game high with three rejections for her fourth game with three blocks this year. Jackson also scored a season-high 11 points off the bench.
Women’s Basketball Survives Fight with Temple, Wins 71-68
