Old Dominion (1-0) vs. Buffalo (1-0)
Game Info – Saturday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. EST
Location – Chartway Arena (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+
Listen – Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1
Live Stats – Click Here
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NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women's basketball continues its five-game homestand this Saturday as the Monarchs host Buffalo for the first round of this season's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Opening tip from Chartway Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.
A scheduling alliance between the Mid-American and Sun Belt Conferences, the first contest in the series will be hosted by SBC schools and the second will be played at a MAC school on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. Matchups for the second round will be announced in January based on the NET rankings at that time. All MAC-SBC Challenge games will be carried on an ESPN platform.
Fans can watch Saturday's game on ESPN+, tune into Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 or follow along with live stats. Saturday also marks ODU's Military/Veteran Appreciation Game and will be sponsored by the Army National Guard.
The Series
ODU and Buffalo are meeting for the first time on Saturday. The Monarchs are 6-1 all-time against Mid-American Conference opponents. ODU last played a MAC team on Dec. 20, 2014 when the Monarchs won 69-63 over Miami (Ohio) in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. Jennie Simms led all scorers in that game with 19 points, adding five rebounds, and went on to earn Tournament MVP honors after ODU also defeated the University of Illinois Chicago, 61-56.
About ODU
The Monarchs (1-0) started off their 2023-24 campaign with a 72-50 victory over Lincoln (Pa.) this past Monday. En'Dya Buford led all scorers with 14 points and added six assists and two steals to her totals. The transfer from Jones Junior College shot 5-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line.
Kaye Clark contributed 13 points with six steals, Mikayla Brown had a strong second half to finish with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Simone Cunningham led the team on the glass with nine boards. A wire-to-wire victory for the Monarchs, ODU led by as many as 24 and edged the Lions in points off turnovers (20-12), points in the paint (42-16), second-chance points (10-6), fast-break points (15-3) and points off the bench (35-20). ODU also combined to shoot 29-for-65 (.446) from the floor, 6-for-17 (.353) from distance, and 8-for-18 (.444) at the charity stripe.
With 10 newcomers to this year's squad, head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said afterwards that the newcomers and returnees have bonded well.
""It's going well. There's a lot that has to go into a team becoming a winner. You can't just throw the players together. It takes intentionality from the coaching staff, the support staff and more than anything, the players. They spend a lot of time together off the court. They cook together, they go shopping together, they go to church together. They're a good group and fun to be around."
About Buffalo
After a 58-42 win over Daemen University in an exhibition game on Oct. 28, Buffalo hosted Canisius on Monday and defeated the Golden Griffins, 69-60. Down 32-26 at the half, the Bulls (1-0) outscored the visitors 43-28 the rest of the way. Four Bulls
scored in double figures: Chellia Watson led the way with 21 points, Kirsten Lewis-Williams was next with 16 points, Rana Elhusseini finished with 12 points and Hattie Odgen contributed 10 points with eight rebounds.
Buffalo was picked to finish eighth in the Mid-American Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll and is coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the team finish 12-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play. Buffalo entered the 2023 MAC Championship as the eighth seed and looked to upset top-seeded Toledo in the quarterfinals, but came up just short 75-74 in overtime. The Bulls return just one starter and two letterwinners from last season and have 11 newcomers this year.
Head coach Becky Burke enters her second year leading the program and signed a contract extension through the 2027-28 season. A guard who played four years at Louisville, she helped the Cardinals make three NCAA Tournament appearances, to include reaching the championship final in 2009 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2011. Prior to taking over the Bulls program, Burke had coaching stints at NAIA member Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)(2016-18), NCAA Division II member Charleston (W.Va.)(2018-20), and USC Upstate (2020-22).
Up Next
ODU continues its homestand next Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. EST game against Xavier. Fans in attendance will receive a replica of the Nancy Lieberman statue that was unveiled outside of the Mitchum Performance Center last season. The statues, sponsored by Bryant Heating & Cooling, will be given out on a first come, first served basis.
Season Tickets Available Now
Men's and women's basketball season tickets for the upcoming 2023-24 season are available now at odusports.com/tickets.
Women's basketball season tickets cost $115 for adults and $500 for courtside seating and include tickets to all 16 of the Monarchs' home games. Men's basketball season tickets start at $215 and include tickets for the Monarchs' exhibition on Oct. 25 and all 15 of ODU's regular season home games. Call the ODU Ticket Office at 757-683-4444 to receive special pricing.
Season tickets represent a savings of more than $45 for women's games and $50 for men's games, over single-game tickets. Single-game ticket prices start at $15 for men's games and $11 for women's games, with special pricing for senior citizens, ODU faculty and staff, youth (12 and younger) and members of the military. ODU students can register for student tickets for free to any ODU men's and women's home game.
Single game tickets are on sale now! Click here to purchase tickets.
ODU Hosts Buffalo on Saturday in the Opening Round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge
