HARRISONBURG, Va. – Old Dominion women's basketball led 34-30 at halftime but could not keep up with James Madison in the second half as the Monarchs dropped their Sun Belt conference game 68-54 on Saturday afternoon at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
"For some reason we're coming out flat and unfocused [in the second half] and we start the third quarter with a turnover," said head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. "That's just a lack of commitment and focus. We allowed this team to dominate us on the glass. Even though they're longer and taller than us, you can still apply mechanics and technique in terms of boxing out. But you can't come in here in this environment and think that you can walk away with the win if you're playing sloppily and you're deviating from the plan."
Jatyjia Jones turned in her best outing as a Monarch as the graduate transfer scored a season-high 12 points with four rebounds, one block and one steal. Jordan McLaughlin finished with 11 points, five boards and three assists while Makayla Dickens also had 11 points with four rebounds and two assists. Brianna Jackson and Kay Clark contributed eight and seven points, respectively.
As a team, ODU shot 18-for-53 (.340) from the floor, including 5-for-20 (.250) from beyond the arc, and 13-for-21 (.619) at the free-throw line.
In the first quarter, a Dicken's three-point field goal gave the Monarchs (8-7, 0-2 Sun Belt) their first lead at 3-2. After a Jada Duckett layup made it 5-4, Dickens had another good make from distance to give ODU control at 8-6. The Dukes (12-2, 2-0 SBC) pulled even at 8-8, but Clark went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line and Jackson followed with a layup. The hosts responded with a 9-0 run before a jumper from Jones cut the deficit to 17-13 with 1:28 remaining in the opening stanza. JMU converted 3-of-4 shots at the line over the final 34 seconds and took a 20-13 lead into the second quarter.
ODU closed the gap with six unanswered points to start the second quarter. Clark made both of her charity shots before McLaughlin scored a pair of fast-break buckets. Jones connected from long range to knot the score at 22-22, and a 9-0 run by the Monarchs allowed them to retake the lead 31-24 at the 3:14 mark. Jackson scored in the paint with 30 seconds left in the first half and ODU went into the locker room up 34-30.
The third quarter proved to be harmful as JMU outscored ODU 21-6. The Dukes came out of the intermission with 14 straight points and never looked back. Jackson ended the scoring drought with a pair of layups, but the Monarchs couldn't get another shot to fall until a McLaughlin jumper with 20 seconds left in the quarter. ODU shot just 3-for-12 from the field in the third, compared to an 8-for-15 effort by the home team. That effort allowed JMU to take a 51-40 lead into the final 10 minutes.
ODU was unable to string points together in the fourth as both sides traded points. A fast-break layup from Jones at the 6:42 mark cut the JMU lead to 12 at 59-47, but JMU hit a three-pointer in response. Later, a deep ball by Clark got it back to 12 points at 64-52 with 2:43 to go, but that was as close as the Monarchs would get.
ODU will be back on its home court next week as the Monarchs host ULM for a 6:30 p.m. game on Thursday and South Alabama for a 2 p.m. contest a week from today.
Game Notes
- Today's game marked the 78th meeting between ODU and JMU and was the first meeting since Feb. 28, 2013.
- ODU's lead in the all-time series now stands at 52-26. The Dukes have now won six straight in the series.
- The game featured four ties and eight lead changes.
- JMU out-rebounded ODU, 42-29.
- JMU made 18-of-19 (.947) free throws.
- ODU turned over the ball five times in the first 3:46 of the third quarter.
- Jones' previous season high was eight points in the Nov. 30 win over Temple. This was her first double-digit outing as a Monarch.
- It was the fourth-straight game in double figures for Dickens and her sixth in the past seven.
Monarchs Fall at James Madison, 68-54
