By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – It was uncomfortably close for the Old Dominion women's basketball team with just under three minutes left, as the Monarchs were mired in a 51-51 tie with Georgia State.
But ODU turned on its afterburners and rallied to claim a 60-54 victory over the Panthers before a relieved Chartway Arena crowd of 2,397 in the annual Hoops for the Cure game.
The victory was the fifth in a row and 10th in the last 12 games for ODU (18-9 overall, 10-4 Sun Belt), which remains tied with Texas State and James Madison for second place in the Sun Belt standings with four games left to play before the conference tournament.
Although the Monarchs won, it was far from a classic, ODU-like performance.
Georgia State (10-17, 4-10) had lost eight of its last 10 entering Saturday's game, is 11th in the Sun Belt and was 1-11 on the road. ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said she could tell during pre-game warmups that her players weren't emotionally ready to play.
"We cannot come out and put that kind of display against any team," Milton-Jones said. "Imagine if that was James Madison? We would not have gotten out of here with a win."
Kaye Clark, who led the Monarchs in scoring with 12 points and had six assists, agreed with her coach.
"If we'd come out against James Madison like we did today, they would have put us on our backs and run over us," she said.
"We need to come out stronger in the start of both the first half and second half."
Clark, whom Milton-Jones is pushing for Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, had another sterling defensive performance. She had a steal, constantly disrupted Georgia State's offensive flow and blocked two shots, including a three-pointer when the game was still tight in the fourth quarter.
Amari Young had nine points, including a couple of key baskets in the fourth quarter, and 15 of ODU's 39 rebounds.
Kaye Clark blocks a three-point shot in the fourth quarter
"Amari was relentless on the boards," Milton-Jones said.
No other players were in double figures on a night when the Monarchs consistently missed from long distance against a tightly-packed Georgia State zone.
ODU led 13-12 after a lackluster first quarter, by five at halftime and by 10 points when Clarke made a layup and foul shot with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
But Georgia State then fought its way right back into the game. Tehya Lyons made two free throws and sophomore Mikyla Tolivert back-to-back layups to narrow the lead to three. Tolivert led all scorers with 19 points.
Georgia State dominated the early going in the fourth quarter and led, 45-40, after a long jump shot from Deasia Merrill with 6:40 left.
ODU then rallied as Young made a layup and a free throw and then Brianna Jackson a layup, with an assist from Clark, to tie it up at 45-45.
Tolivert made a pair of free throws for another tie at 51-51 with just under three minutes left.
Young grabbed her own missed shot and made the follow shot to give ODU the lead for good, 53-51. Jackson then picked off a pass and fed the ball to Jordan McLaughlin, whose fast-break layup made it 55-51.
After a short jumper from Tolivert, Clark made the play of the game with a twisting layup in which she was fouled. She flexed her muscles overhead like Superman, then hit the foul shot to make it 58-53 with 1:08 left.
Georgia State missed shots on it next two possessions and Jackson made two free throws with 14 seconds to end any hope of a comeback.
Although her team did not play well, Milton-Jones said winning the 18th game of the season "is something our players should celebrate. That's really special.
"But we are hungry for more."
Monarchs were all smiles following their 60-54 victory
ODU closes out its home season Thursday against Appalachian State at 6:30 and then Saturday against James Madison at 2 p.m. The App State game is senior night and Saturday versus JMU will mark alumni night for ODU.
ODU opened Sun Belt play with lopsided losses at App State and JMU, but the Monarchs were without Young, their best player, on that trip.
"I hope the community will come out and support us those last two games," Milton-Jones said. "And not just us, but our alumni who are coming back.
"I want this arena to be rocking. We opened with two losses against Appalachian State and James Madison and I want everyone to come out and make them feel unwelcome. It's going to be a great challenge for us."
NOTES: Milton-Jones on the Hoops for the Cure game, which honors breast cancer survivors and is played in the memory of those who didn't survive. "Everyone in some way, shape or form has been touched by someone that they know or love by cancer. To celebrate those who have won that battle and to recognize the ones who may have fallen, it's a special thing for us as a program to rally around this cause." . . . The Monarchs wore white uniforms with pink trim and pink shoes. A majority of fans came clad in pink . . . The Monarchs made 8 of 12 shots (67 percent) and 6 of 8 free throws (75 percent) in the critical fourth quarter . . . ODU has now won 10 straight against the Panthers and leads the all-time series, 17-1 . . . The Panthers got to the line twice as much as the Monarchs, but shot just 57.1 percent (16 for 28) . . . The game featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes. ODU held the lead for 29 minutes . . . Clark's two-block performance ties her career best. She's now recorded multiple blocks in a game five times.