By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – When I talk to Old Dominion fans who attend men's basketball, football, baseball and volleyball games fairly regularly, and ask them why they haven't been to an ODU women's basketball game, the refrain usually goes something like this:
It's been so long since I've been to a game, I just haven't thought about it. Or, I'm waiting until they're good again before I invest a few dollars and a few hours of my time.
It's been 13 seasons since ODU advanced to the NCAA Tournament, so it's understandable that some fans aren't playing attention.
But if you're one of those people still waiting, it's time to get off the sidelines.
This ODU women's team is good, and the Monarchs play an attractive, up-tempo and high energy brand of basketball. And their defense is a thing of beauty worthy of the legacy set by Mery Andrade and other stars of ODU's storied past.
ODU ranks seventh nationally in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 51.2 points per game, and is 12th nationally in turnovers forced, at 22.47 per game.
Iggy Allen is the best athlete on the team and plays with a ton of emotion
And the Monarchs are 14-3, the best overall record in Conference USA, and have won 12 of their last 13 games.
Their only loss during that stretch was a narrow defeat at UTEP. And that came just days after the Monarchs were sidelined for several weeks from playing and practicing because of COVID.
Earlier this season ODU beat Power 5 schools Texas Tech and Auburn by 14 points each. Texas Tech recently upset No. 9 Texas and No. 25 Kansas State. Those are quality wins that will help if the Monarchs don't win the Conference USA Tournament and are looking for an at-large bid.
Their odds of winning the C-USA Tournament look good to me. And we'll learn a lot more Wednesday night when ODU hosts Charlotte.
This may be the marquee game of the season for ODU. Charlotte was picked to win the C-USA title, and ODU was picked second. These teams are the closest thing to arch rivals that you'll get in the far-flung Conference USA.
Ajah Wayne is as smooth a player as there is in women's basketball.
The 49ers beat ODU twice last season in overtime, including a game in which, because of depth issues, the Monarchs finished the fourth quarter with just four players.
ODU got revenge in the C-USA Tournament, ousting Charlotte, 90-89, in two overtimes.
Charlotte is 8-6 overall after having played a brutal non-conference schedule, but the 49ers are 4-0 in the league. ODU is 4-1 in Conference USA.
"Both programs have good players, good coaches and they really compete against each other," coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said.
"Any time we play them, it's always a good game."
ODU has averaged 1,511 fans per game, second in Conference USA. And while that's an acceptable attendance number for a run-of-the-mill program, it's not for a university with such a women's basketball tradition.
Brianna Jackson is developing into a force inside for ODU.
Recently named a finalist for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Milton-Jones has been pounding the drums, urging fans to come see her team play.
She persuaded two-time Wade Trophy winner Nancy Lieberman and ESPN sportscaster and ODU graduate Jay Harris to come to Norfolk in October to do an event to help gin up attendance.
More than 200 fans showed a ton of enthusiasm as they were entertained by more than an hour of banter between Lieberman, Harris and Milton-Jones.
Nancy Lieberman, Jay Harris Urge ODU fans to Support Women's Basketball Team
Lieberman and Harris urged fans to come see ODU play. "Please support this team," Lieberman said.
"Come to just one game and I guarantee you'll come back to see us again," Milton-Jones said that night.
"Our players play with passion," she said this week. "They bleed ODU blue.
"They love this university and they're competitors and they're winners. When they're having the kind of season they're having, they are deserving of the fans coming out and supporting them.
"Our fans are a part of everything we do. Our fans are our sixth man. They provide our energy."
That's true. ODU's current fans are very supportive. There just aren't enough of them.
Amari Young does everything well, but excels on defense
"If the community embraced this team the way they do other teams, it would make a tremendous statement," she said.
The truth is, ODU women's basketball has been making big strides since Nikki McCray-Penson was named coach in 2017. Her second team finished 21-11, and her last team in 2019-2020 was 24-6 heading into the league tournament.
I thought she had the best team in the league.
But the Monarchs were heartbroken when, only hours before they were to begin play in the Conference USA Tournament, it was canceled because of COVID.
After losing most of her team last season in part because of COVID, Milton-Jones recruited 10 newcomers, and this team is every bit as talented, and has more depth, than the 2019-20 squad.
Senior guard Ajah Wayne is as smooth a player as you will see in the women's game. No one works harder, and she has an amazing ability to make off-balance shots that leave defenders scratching their heads. She does everything well, from leading the fast break to playing tough defense to making three-point shots.
Iggy Allen, a graduate transfer from FAU, is a great athlete who has a high motor and is third in the league in rebounding (8.59) and eighth in scoring (14.5). As one player said after a recent game, Iggy was so aggressive and so good that it was a little scary. When she's making shots, she's unstoppable.
Mariah Adams is a prototypical, Power 5 point guard
Mariah Adams, a senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, is a prototypical Power 5 point guard. She's 6-feet tall, has great court vision and when ODU's shooting guards aren't shooting well, she takes up the slack.
Brianna Jackson, a 6-3 Princess Anne High graduate who transferred from the University of Miami, is gradually becoming a force inside for ODU. She scored 23 points and had 19 rebounds in ODU's last two games.
Forward Amari Young was on the C-USA all-defensive team and second unit of the all-league team last season, when she averaged 13.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. Her averages are down this season, but that's because the Monarchs have so much more depth.
Milton-Jones' bench is so deep that five played in Saturday's 67-57 victory over North Texas.
ODU hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2008, when Wendy Larry took the Monarchs to the Sweet 16. This team has a really good chance of ending 13 years of frustration.
I'll reiterate what Milton-Jones said in October. Come out and give this team a look-see. Just one game. If you don't like what you see, then thank you for supporting ODU that one game.
But I think you'll come back.
ODU's remaining home games:
Wednesday, Jan. 26, Charlotte, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 7, FIU, Time TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 10, Middle Tennessee, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 17, Marshall, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 19, WKU, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2, Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m.