SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Old Dominion women's basketball earned its third win in a row with a 57-31 wire-to-wire victory at USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon at the G.B. Hodge Center.
"We wanted to see how many stops we could get consecutively, and I think we did a great job of keeping them scoreless for a large amount of time," said head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. "But then as the game went on, we were held scoreless for too long, and that's something that's concerning for me. You always want to respect whoever it is that you're playing, and I think tonight we had too many lulls between our play. We still have a new group and we're still learning new things with every game."
Amari Young turned in a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double and Jordan McLaughlin led both teams with 16 points. Young also grabbed seven steals and recorded two blocks with one assist. Kaye Clark contributed eight points with six rebounds, six steals and five assists.
The Monarchs (5-3) shot 24-for-57 (.421) from the field, 3-for-15 (.200) from beyond the arc, and 6-for-13 (.462) at the free-throw line. ODU won every quarter and scored more points off turnovers (21-10), more points in the paint (38-6), more second-chance points (9-3) and more fast-break points (13-5).
ODU opened the game on an 8-0 run before the Spartans (1-6) finally got on the board with a pair of free throws at the 1:43 mark. Jatyjia Jones then assisted Brenda Fontana on a layup before Upstate's Rebekah Gordon closed out the first quarter with a three-pointer from the left wing.
In the second quarter, the hosts put together a 5-0 run to close the gap at 13-11 with 5:14 on the clock. McLaughlin then made the hoop and harm and Young scored a layup to push the Monarch lead to 18-11 with 1:48 left in the first half. Following another two points from Gordan, Makayla Dickens found Clark in the left corner and the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native made her shot from distance. Clark then stole the ball and scored a driving layup as the Monarchs led 23-13 at halftime.
"We had a decent start, but I think we could have come out even stronger," said Young. "Going in with a defensive mindset, we knew that we could play in the gaps, get in the passing lanes and get some steals. That was one of our main focuses coming in."
It was another fast start to the third quarter as ODU scored another 14 straight points to pull away, 37-13. Upstate then outscored the Monarchs 15-2 over the final four minutes and 50 seconds to cut the ODU lead to 39-28 heading into the final 10 minutes.
McLaughlin made a pair of buckets to get things started in the fourth quarter. Clark then set up Young for a layup underneath and Brianna Jackson got a pair of layups to fall to cap off the 10-0 run. After Isabella Geraci went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe at the 3:20 mark, Jones followed a Mikayla Brown layup with a three ball from the left wing. That rounded out the scoring as the Spartans turned over the ball and ODU dribbled out the rest of the clock.
The Monarchs open a three-game homestand this Tuesday, Dec. 6 as ODU welcomes Lincoln (Pa.) for an 11 a.m. contest at Chartway Arena. The first meeting between the two programs, it marks ODU's Education Day game.
Game Notes
- Saturday's game marked the third meeting in the all-time series. ODU is now 3-0 when playing the Spartans.
- Young's double-double marked the 20th of her career.
- Young's seven steals mark a new career high.
- Clark's five assists are a new career high.
- McLaughlin's 16 points are a new season high.
- ODU held Upstate to single digits in three of four quarters, to include just three points in the fourth.
- Upstate's 31 points are the fewest by an opponent since ODU defeated Bowie State 70-29 last season.
Monarchs Secure 57-31 Win at USC Upstate
