By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – How valuable is Amari Young to the Old Dominion women's basketball team?
The math is simple. With Young in the lineup, ODU is 4-0 in Sun Belt Conference games. Without her, the Monarchs are 0-2.
Young tied her season highs with 17 points and 13 rebounds, Kaye Clark added 16 points and Jatyjia Jones made two critical free throws with nine seconds left to lead the Monarchs to a 63-56 victory over Marshall Saturday afternoon at Chartway Arena.
It was the fourth Sun Belt victory in a row for ODU (12-7 overall, 4-2 Sun Belt), which is 4-0 in 2023 and 9-0 at home.
The Monarchs had little time to prepare themselves for this game. They won a physical and emotional, 84-82, overtime game at Georgia Southern on Thursday night and their flight didn't arrive back in Norfolk until after noon on Friday.
"I'm extremely proud of our crew and the resiliency that we've shown over this past week," head coach Delisha Milton-Jones said.
"This was really a good win."
ODU led most of the way, but thanks to two Abby Beemon free throws in the final seconds of the third quarter, Marshall led 49-47 entering the final period.
ODU quickly reasserted itself as Clark picked off a pass and made a layup, Jones made a short jumper and Young a step-back jump shot to give the Monarchs a 53-49 lead with 6:20 left.
ODU would never trail again, but the game was in doubt until the final seconds.
Beeman made a three-pointer with 42 seconds left to pull the Herd (9-8, 2-4) within three.
Joy Campbell, whose entrance into the game early in the fourth period gave the Monarchs a defensive spark, then missed a layup, rebounded the missed shot and was fouled by Beeman.
ODU needed one foul shot to make it a two-possession game, but Campbell missed both.
Marshall's Roshala Scott then missed a three-pointer that was rebounded by Jones. She was immediately fouled and calmly made both shots to salt the victory away.
"Those were big-time free throws for us, they were super clutch," Milton-Jones said.
Jones said Young told her "you'd better make them" as she approached the foul line.
"I said, OK, I've got you. So, I just did my normal routine. I stepped back off the line and then came back so I wouldn't rush the shot," Jones said.
Jones came off the bench and played nearly 20 minutes, well above her average, and scored 12 points with five rebounds.
"I'm just glowing inside because she needed this," Milton-Jones said. "She's a great player and we try to remind her of that often. But like any student-athlete, you have ebbs and flows. But she's weathered the storm and was able to stand in the moment."
The Monarchs dropped their first two Sun Belt games at Appalachian State and James Madison in games in which the Monarchs were competitive until the late going. Young was back home in North Augusta, South Carolina, where her father, Al, passed away shortly before Christmas.
Young did not practice for a full two weeks and has been playing her way back into shape, but Jones said her return to the court gave ODU a morale boost.
Young played nearly 34 minutes and was the target of a physical defensive effort from the Herd.
"She played through fatigue but was still making plays for us," Milton-Jones said. "Some of the rebounds she pulled down, my goodness, she was over the rim."
ODU took a quick 10-point lead in the game's first four minutes on jump shots from Brianna Jackson and Young, a steal by Clark, who fed Makayla Dickens on a fast-break layup, and then back-to-back Young jumpers.
Jones then made a layup, was fouled and then swished the free-throw to give ODU a 12-point lead, 15-3, with 3:20 left in the first quarter.
But the rest of the quarter belonged to Marshall as Meredith Maier pulled the Herd within two, 17-15, on a layup with 23 seconds left.
Marshall briefly took one-point leads twice in the second quarter, but Jordan McLaughlin made a three-pointer and a layup, and Young added a sweeping left-handed layup and a short jumper, all in the final 3:10, and ODU led at the half, 36-29.
The Monarchs went cold in the third quarter, making just four of 14 shots. But the fourth quarter belonged to ODU.
Milton-Jones said Campbell's defensive play in the fourth quarter was critical to ODU's victory.
"We needed a solid defensive effort that had energy attached to it," Milton-Jones said.
"You can see her growth process," she added. "She was able to play critical minutes and help finish out a very big victory for us."
ODU Women Claim Their Fourth Sun Belt Win in a Row with 63-56 Victory over Marshall
