EL PASO, Texas – A push in the fourth quarter was not enough for the Old Dominion women's basketball team in a 53-48 loss at UTEP on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs trailed by as many as 11 in the second half but twice tied the score in the fourth quarter only for the Miners to score the last five points of the game to end ODU's nine-game winning streak.
"Yes, we knew the streak would eventually end," head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "I'm just upset that it ended this way with us basically giving the game away. On the defensive end we had too many breakdowns, too many players going rogue and lacking discipline."
ODU (11-3, 1-1 C-USA) entered the fourth quarter down 39-30 and netted the first eight points of the period with seven of those eight coming from Iggy Allen. Allen's jumper with 7:21 to play made it a 39-38 score, but UTEP (10-4, 2-2) responded with a 3-pointer to push its lead to 42-38. After that Miner triple, the Monarchs scored the next four points by way of the foul line with Amari Young and then Brianna Jackson making both of their attempts from the charity stripe.
Jackson's second free throw knotted the score at 42-all with 5:52 left on the clock, but the Miners scored the next four. Trailing by four, Kaye Clark converted a layup then tied up Adhel Tac on the next possession, giving the ball back to the Monarchs. ODU took advantage of the opportunity with Young scoring on a jumper to tie the game at 48-48 with 2:32 left to go.
"Sticking together as a team is what brought us back in the fourth quarter," Mariah Adams said.
Young's bucket was the last of the game for the Monarchs as ODU turned it over on the next three possessions. In that span, Katia Gallegos converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Miners the lead for good, and Teal Battle tacked on two more at the line.
Allen came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of her nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.
ODU led by a pair after a low-scoring first quarter. The Monarchs opened the game with four unanswered and were still up four at 6-2 with 4:34 left in the quarter. After that, ODU went scoreless for 3:39, allowing the Miners to take their first lead of the game at 7-6. Joy Campbell ended the scoreless stretch with a 3-pointer inside the final minute, giving ODU a 9-7 lead after 10 minutes.
The two sides traded blows throughout the second quarter. Ajah Wayne tied the score at 13-13 with 3:10 left in the half, but UTEP closed out the half on a 7-2 run which was highlighted by a pair of treys. The Miners shot 5-of-9 (.556) in the second quarter and made both shots from deep.
UTEP sustained its run into the third quarter, building its largest lead of the game at 28-17 with 6:17 left in the period. ODU made just one of its first six attempts from the floor to start the second half before a quick 5-0 run made it a six-point game. The Miners soon rebuilt a 10-point edge before a pair of Young foul shots and an Aziah Hudson bucket made it 36-30 with 15 seconds to play, but UTEP knocked down a trey as time expired to make it 39-30 heading into the fourth.
After shooting 7-for-25 (.281) in the first half, the Monarchs shot 50 percent in the second half, including a 6-of-10 mark in the fourth quarter. For the game, Old Dominion made 19 of its 49 attempts (.388) and was 2-of-11 from behind the arc.
"The things we were trying to stress in the first half, we were finally able to implement in the second half," Milton-Jones said. "We made some adjustments and were able to find direct line passes to our bigs or open gaps for our guards to exploit with drives or shots."
UTEP shot 42 percent for the game, becoming the fourth opponent to shoot 40 percent or better against the Monarchs.
Six Monarchs scored between six and nine points, led by Allen's nine. Adams scored eight to go with five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Kaye Clark chipped in seven on 3-of-6 shooting. Amari Young had six points and now has 999 in her career.
Battle led UTEP with 15 points and eight rebounds but did commit eight turnovers. As a team, the Miners turned it over 20 times on Saturday.
The Monarchs face a short turnaround and host Florida Atlantic on Monday at 1:30 p.m.
"We cannot wait to be back at Chartway Arena," Milton-Jones said. "We're going to have a tough game, but we'll be ready for it. Hopefully we can get on another win streak, but the most important win is the next one."
Women’s Basketball Sees Streak End at UTEP, 53-48
