By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's basketball team lost a frustrating, heartbreaking game Wednesday night in its final home appearance. But the loss won't have any effect on ODU's postseason fate.
ODU made critical mistakes in the final minutes, LA Tech seemed to make every play it needed, and the Lady Techsters won, 65-62, in a game not decided until the final second.
Regardless of whether ODU (22-7, 12-5 Conference USA) won or lost on Wednesday, the team's seeding in next week's C-USA Tournament will be determined Saturday when the Monarchs end their regular season at Middle Tennessee.
The winner of that game claims a bye into the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas and will play on Wednesday, March 9. The loser plays a night earlier, and must win four games in four nights to win the tournament.
Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said she would much rather play on March 9 and have just three games to win the title.
The biggest potential blow absorbed by ODU occurred late in the first half when Ajah Wayne, the standout senior guard from Birmingham, Alabama, took a hard fall to the floor. She grimaced in pain before being led off the court.
She returned to the bench, but did not play and walked out of Chartway Arena at game's end on crutches. An MRI on Thursday morning will determine the extent of her injury. Wayne is the emotional leader and arguably the best player on the team. Losing her this late in the season would be a huge blow.
"I'm hoping and praying that the basketball gods will shine down on her," Milton-Jones said. "We're going to need her going into the final push.
"We'll have the doctors assess her tonight and first thing in the morning so we can get a clear understanding of what's going on.
"It was very encouraging that once she got back (in the locker room), she was able to walk on her own.
"She deserves to be a part of anything beautiful that we experience from here on out. She has been a mainstay of all our success that we have had. She has helped carry us."
Milton-Jones said she sensed the team was unfocused both in practice on Tuesday and at Wednesday's shootaround, and the Monarchs clearly were in the first quarter. Robyn Lee made a driving layup with 16 seconds left in the first quarter to give LA Tech a 22-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
ODU quickly rallied in the second quarter, tying the score at 22-22 with an 11-0 run capped by a driving layup by Wayne. Aziah Hudson made a layup to give the Monarchs a 4-point lead at halftime, 32-28.
But the Monarchs faltered in the second half, in part because they were missing Wayne's scoring and playmaking.
Iggy Allen, who led ODU with 20 points, made a steal and a layup with 5:49 left in the game to give the Monarchs a 56-52 lead. The Monarchs led 56-55 when Milton-Jones got a technical foul call that was understandable under the circumstances – Amari Young was hacked while attempting to make a layup but there was no call.
It was one of several whistles that did not go ODU's way in the second half. Milton-Jones said she didn't say anything different to the referees that she hadn't been saying all night.
Young gave ODU a 58-57 lead on a layup with 3:26 left, but ODU committed a turnover and missed shots on the next two possessions and LA Tech retook the lead, 61-59 on a driving jump shot by Salma Bates.
Brianna Jackson, the junior forward from Virginia Beach, made two pressure free throws with 1:05 left to pull ODU within two, then scored again with 22 seconds left to give ODU its final lead, 62-61. The LA Tech bench exploded, contending that Jackson had charged, and coaches had to be ushered by the refs back to the bench. But there was no technical called.
Lee then shot a dagger into ODU's hopes with a jump shot just inside the baseline with 10 seconds left.
Allen then threw the ball away while attempting to get it to Jackson, and the Monarchs were forced to foul. Anna Larr Roberson, a 6-3 sophomore who led LA Tech with 31 points and eight rebounds, made two foul shots with .6 seconds left to put the Lady Techsters ahead by three.
ODU called a timeout and got the ball at half court, but a play designed to get the ball to Allen broke down, and instead the ball went to Jackson, whose desperation 3-pointer fell short.
LA Tech players stormed the court in celebration. The victory was the eighth in the last 10 games for the Lady Techsters (18-10, 10-7).
Jackson, a transfer from the University of Miami, has made steady progress this season and had 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. Point guard Mariah Adams played the entire game and had seven assists.
Hudson had 11 points, and made three of six 3-point shots.
Milton-Jones said the Monarchs need "to roll our sleeves up, dissect this film, find the issues and correct them" before traveling to Middle Tennessee.
"Middle Tennessee is a great team. They've done great things all year long.
"It's going to be a battle of two juggernauts."
Wednesday's game was witnessed by a crowd of 2,373, the second-largest and clearly the loudest of the season, and included more than 300 students, the largest turnout of the season.
After the game, Milton-Jones picked up a microphone and thanked the fans for their support.
"And the best is yet to come," she added.
Game Notes
Iggy Allen became the 36th Monarch to join the 1,000-point club and now has 1,004 points in her career. She paced ODU with 20 points and now has 20 career games with 20 or more points, including eight this season.
Mariah Adams dished out seven more assists on Wednesday and now has 22 helpers and just four turnovers in her last three games. She played every second of Wednesday's game.
Brianna Jackson matched her career high with 15 points and added two steals. Jackson went 7-for-7 from the foul line, setting a new personal best for made free throws.
ODU made all 11 of its foul shots against LA Tech. The Monarchs had not shot 100 percent from the charity stripe in a game since going 5-for-5 at George Mason on Nov. 17, 2017.
Aziah Hudson hit three of her six attempts from 3-point range and finished the game with 11 points. She is averaging 13.8 points per game in her last four games while shooting 9-of-17 (.529) from deep.
Old Dominion forced 20 turnovers and came away with 10 steals. That was ODU's 14th game with double-digit steals this season.
Ajah Wayne passed Ticha Penicheiro for 24th place on the all-time scoring list at ODU and now has 1,305 points.
Despite being outrebounded 26-22, the Monarchs allowed just one offensive rebound and held LA Tech to zero second-chance points. Old Dominion also held a 14-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
Ashanti Barnes-Williams turned in another solid performance off the bench, scoring six points while going 3-for-3 from the field.
ODU Women's Basketball Team Falls to LA Tech, but Still Controls its Postseason Destiny
