Old Dominion (24-9) vs. Columbia (23-6)
Game Info – Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m.
Location – Chartway Arena (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN3
Listen – ESPN Radio 94.1 FM
Live Stats – Click Here
Tickets – Click Here
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's basketball team returns home to Chartway Arena for a WNIT Second Round clash with Columbia at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The game is streaming live on ESPN3 and going out on the airwaves of ESPN Radio 94.1 FM. Tickets are available at Ynottix.
The Starting Five
Old Dominion advanced to the WNIT Second Round with a 72-66 win at Towson on Friday night. Iggy Allen led all with 25 points, shooting 4-of-8 from deep. As a team, the Monarchs made seven 3-pointers, shooting 46.7 percent from deep. On the other side of the ball, ODU limited Towson's potent offense to 37.1-percent shooting and a 4-of-19 mark from 3-point range.
The Monarchs are making their ninth appearance in the WNIT and are 8-8 in the tournament. Old Dominion won the then-National Women's Invitational Tournament in 1978 as a warm-up to back-to-back AIAW national championships in 1979 and 1980. ODU has been a part of the WNIT six times since its rebirth in 1998. The Monarchs have never advanced past the second round of the modern WNIT.
The Monarchs are one of the tightest defensive units in the country this year. ODU entered the weekend ranked 23rd nationally and first in C-USA in scoring defense (55.6). ODU is turning teams over 20.15 times per game (17th in DI, 1st in C-USA) while averaging the 22nd-most steals per game (10.6) in the country. Additionally, ODU is second in the conference with 3.8 blocks per game.
Iggy Allen and Ajah Wayne received First Team All-Conference USA honors at the end of the regular season, marking the first time ODU landed multiple players on the All-C-USA First Team. Additionally, the Monarchs had not claimed multiple first team honorees since 2004, when Monique Coker and Max Nhassengo were named First Team All-CAA. For Allen, it was the second straight year with first team all-conference honors. Wayne placed on the first team for the first time in her career.
On Feb. 14, head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones was announced as a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Milton-Jones boasts an accolade-filled career in the game. She received the Wade Trophy in 1997 as the best player in college basketball and won two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA titles. She is the seventh individual with ODU ties to reach the hall and is just the 13th active DI head coach in the WBHOF.
Scouting Columbia
Columbia is 23-6 overall and finished second in the Ivy League with a 12-2 mark. The Lions moved on to Norfolk following an 80-69 win over Holy Cross. Abbey Hsu scored a game-high 24 points for Columbia and chipped in six rebounds and seven assists. Hsu made five of her nine 3-point attempts.
Columbia averages 69.1 points per game on 41.5-percent shooting from the field and a 31.5-percent mark from deep.
Hsu leads the Lions in scoring at 16.7 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. She also averages 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Kaitlyn Davis is Columbia's top rebounder at 8.4 per game. She also scores 12.9 per game alongside 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks.
The Series
Old Dominion and Columbia are meeting for the first time.
What's Next
The winner of Sunday's game advances to the third round where either Boston College or Quinnipiac await. Third-round games are slated for March 23-26. Host sites and game times will be released at a later date.
Women’s Hoops Hosts Columbia Sunday in WNIT Second Round
