Game 1 – Old Dominion (14-9, 6-4 Sun Belt) at Southern Miss (14-7, 7-3 Sun Belt)
Game 2 – Old Dominion (14-9, 6-4 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (6-15, 1-9 Sun Belt)
Game Info – Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m. EST
Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. EST
Location – Reed Green Coliseum (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
First National Bank Arena (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2)
Listen – ODU Sports Radio Network
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Game Notes – ODU
NORFOLK, Va. – After splitting its conference games at home versus Texas State and Coastal Carolina last week, Old Dominion women's basketball will be on the road against Southern Miss this Thursday and Arkansas State on Saturday. Thursday's game is set for a 7 p.m. EST opening tip and Saturday is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. EST start.
Both games will be available on ESPN+ and Andy Mashaw can be heard on the ODU Sports Radio Network. Live stats will also be available.
The Series
Thursday's game versus Southern Miss will be the 10th matchup in the series history, which ODU leads 5-4. The teams last played each other in the 2020 season with the Monarchs winning at home, 67- 50. As for Arkansas State, it will be the first-ever meeting with the Red Wolves.
About ODU
After dropping a game against Texas State 46-52 on Thursday, the Monarchs (14-9, 6-4 Sun Belt) bounced back on Saturday versus Coastal Carolina with a strong 14-point win, 64-78. The Monarchs were led by Amari Young's 17 points and eight rebounds. Makayla Dickens also chipped in with 11 points and three other Monarchs contributed eight points each.
Young and Dickens are ODU's top two scorers with 11.4 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Next is Clark with 9.0 ppg and Jordan McLaughlin follows with an 8.7 scoring average. Dickens has made a team-high 46 shots from beyond the arc and Young is the top rebounder with 7.9 boards per outing. McLaughlin currently owns 77 assists, Jada Duckett has taken over the team lead with 14 blocks, and Young and Brianna Jackson have 10 blocks each.
Clark is leading ODU in total steals with 63, while averaging 2.7 steals per game. As of Jan. 31, she's ranked 13th in the nation and first in the Sun Belt in total steals and 26th nationally and first in the league in steals per game. As a team, ODU leads the conference and is 19th in the country in turnovers forced per game (20.91). The Monarchs are also the league leaders and are ranked 25th nationally in turnover margin (4.87).
ODU owns a .384 (556-for-1449) shooting percentage and a .275 (119-for-433) three-point field goal percentage while shooting .624 (247-for-396) at the free-throw line. The team has outscored their opponents by +3.3 points while averaging 64.3 points and 13.1 assists per game.
About Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles (14-7, 7-3) won their road game last Thursday against Arkansas State 68-59, but then lost an overtime battle against Texas State 62-52 on Saturday. Southern Miss ran out of steam in the extra period as they were outscored, 14-4. Femi Funeus and Lani Cornfield led the team in scoring with 14 points each in the loss.
Southern Miss has two players scoring in double digits: Domonique Davis (17.0 ppg) and Melyia Grayson (11.5 ppg). Grayson is ranked 24th in the nation in field goal percentage (.559) as well as first in the Sun Belt. Davis is the conference leader in field goal attempts (313) and is ranked second in the league in field goal makes (128). Lauren Gross (4.8 ppg) has knocked down a team-best 23 three-pointers, followed by Davis with 17, Cornfield (6.9 ppg) with 14 and Jacorriah Bracey (9.0 ppg) with 11. Grayson (6.4 rpg) and Funeus (5.9 rpg) have pulled down a combined 209 rebounds while Davis leads the team with 76 assists with 47 steals. Grayson and Asjha Leake (2.2 ppg) have registered 12 and 10 blocks, respectively.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 62.2 ppg and outscoring opponents by an average of 4.0 points. The team is also out-rebounding their opponents on average by 6.6 rebounds while pulling down 39.8 rpg.
Davis earned Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team honors and Grayson was selected to the Second Team. Southern Miss was projected to finish fourth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll with 137 points.
About Arkansas State
The Red Wolves are currently on a three-game losing skid after dropping their last two matchups against Southern Miss (68-59) on Thursday and Marshall (71-59) on Saturday. A-State is currently 13th in the Sun belt standings with a 1-9 conference record and a 6-15 record overall.
Arkansas State is led by Izzy Higginbottom, who is averaging 13.5 ppg, and Lauryn Pendleton at 12.3 ppg. Mailun Wilkerson (7.4 ppg) is the top threat from distance with 40 made long balls. Melodie Kapinga (5.5 ppg) leads the Sun Belt and is ranked 14th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.0). She's grabbing 7.3 boards per contest while Anna Griffin (8.8 ppg) is averaging 7.9 rebounds. Higginbottom is up to 63 assists and 30 steals while Kiayra Ellis (4.4 ppg) has tallied 20 blocks.
The Red Wolves are being outscored by a 5.1 margin while averaging 65.2 ppg. They are also being outrebounded by a 1.5 margin as well, but they still manage to come away with 39.7 rpg.
Arkansas State received 96 points and was voted to finish ninth within the Sun Belt in the Preseason Poll.
NET Rankings
Sun Belt Conference in the NCAA NET Rankings – as of Jan. 31
| James Madison | 103 |
| Troy | 111 |
| Louisiana | 155 |
| Old Dominion | 162 |
| Southern Miss | 165 |
| Texas State | 175 |
| Marshall | 184 |
| Georgia Southern | 204 |
| Coastal Carolina | 206 |
| Georgia State | 229 |
| App State | 235 |
| Arkansas State | 276 |
| ULM | 326 |
| South Alabama | 335 |
Up Next
ODU opens up a four-game homestand starting next week as the Monarchs host Georgia Southern on Feb. 9 and Georgia State on Feb. 11. The meeting with the Panthers will mark ODU's Hoops for the Cure game.