Old Dominion (14-5, 6-3 Sun Belt) at Texas State (11-10, 2-7 Sun Belt) | at Arkansas State (10-9, 4-5 Sun Belt)
Game Info – Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 12 p.m. EST | Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. EST
Location – Strahan Arena (San Marcos, Texas) | First National Bank Arena (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2)
Listen – Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1
Live Stats – Game 1 | Game 2
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women's basketball is back on the road this week as the Monarchs play at Texas State on Wednesday and at Arkansas State on Saturday. Wednesday's meeting with the Bobcats is scheduled for a 12 p.m. EST start, and Saturday's game versus the Red Wolves will begin at 1 p.m. EST.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, and Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry will also call the action on Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 FM. Fans can also follow along with live stats.
The Series
ODU and TXST are meeting for just the second time on Wednesday. The Monarchs hosted the Bobcats on Jan. 26 last season, a meeting that went to the visitors, 52-46. ODU led 11-4 at the end of the first and was up 32-29 heading into the fourth quarter, but went cold towards the end of the game. An Amari Young layup tied the game at 46-46 with 1:21 to play, but the Monarchs missed their last six shots of the game to see their nine-game winning streak come to an end.
ODU and A-State are also meeting for the second time as the Monarchs went to Jonesboro on Feb. 4 last season and downed the Red Wolves, 87-75. Three players scored in double figures for ODU: Kaye Clark tallied 18 points while Makayla Dickens and Amari Young chipped in 16 points each.
About ODU
Last week saw the Monarchs (14-5, 6-3 Sun Belt) back on their home court after being on the road for the team's previous four games. ODU started off with a 68-49 win over App State on Thursday, then bested Georgia State 73-65 on Saturday on what marked Alumni Night at Chartway Arena.
En'Dya Buford led ODU with 32 points through the two games, adding nine rebounds, six assists and three steals to her weekly totals. The Memphis, Tennessee native continues to pace the Monarch offense with 11.6 ppg and she has also made a team-high 24 three-pointers. Jordan McLaughlin is next in scoring with 9.7 ppg and Clark is third at 8.6 ppg. The rebounding effort is led by Simone Cunningham (5.2 ppg), who has grabbed 126 boards and averages 6.6 rpg. She and teammate Lanetta Williams (3.6 ppg) have combined to make 29 blocks. Clark and Buford still own the top two spots in the Sun Belt in steals and steals per game. Clark ranks eighth nationally with 3.32 spg and is also ninth with 63 steals, whereas Buford ranks 32nd in the country in both categories with 2.58 spg and 49 steals.
As a team, the Monarchs are scoring 62.3 ppg and have outscored their opponents by 5.1 ppg. The team owns the best scoring defense in the conference at 57.2 ppg and is also 17th in the nation in steals per game (11.3), 21st in turnovers forced per game (20.89) and 24th in three-point percentage defense (.264). ODU comes into the week shooting .363 from the field, .273 from beyond the arc, and .676 at the free-throw line. The Monarchs are also 122nd in the latest NET rankings.
About Texas State
The Bobcats (11-10, 2-7) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 63-44 win at South Alabama last Thursday, but then dropped a close game at Louisiana, 59-52 on Saturday. In the first game, TXST outscored the Jaguars 17-4 in the third quarter to pull away as Ja'Niah Henson scored 18 points and Jaylin Foster followed with 12 points. Texas State and Louisiana were tied at 35-35 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Ragin' Cajuns used an early 13-2 run that proved too much for the Bobcats to overcome. Foster finished with 14 points and Henson added 10 points to lead TXST in the loss.
Henson is the top scorer for the team with 15.0 ppg and is also the top threat from distance with 48 threes made. The guard from Baltimore, Maryland is also ninth in the country and second in the Sun Belt in free-throw percentage, shooting .909 (70-for-77) at the line. Timia Jefferson is the other Bobcat averaging double figures at 11.9 ppg. Tiffany Tullis (7.0 ppg) is the top rebounder with 140 boards (6.7 rpg), though Foster (9.8 ppg) isn't far behind with 108 rebounds (5.1 rpg). Henson and Foster own 27 and 26 steals, respectively. Tullis has the team high in blocks with 10.
TXST is listed 185th in the NET rankings and is 21st in three-point percentage defense (.263). The Bobcats are scoring 65.8 ppg and their 60.7 points allowed per game ranks second in the conference. They enter the week shooting .401 from the floor, .338 from long range, and .753 at the charity stripe.
Texas State was picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll after reaching the Sun Belt Championship final last season. Head coach Zenarae Antoine is in her 13th season with the program and is two wins shy of reaching 200 for her career.
About Arkansas State
The Red Wolves (10-9, 4-5) dropped both of their games last week, suffering an 84-76 loss at ULM on Thursday and a 91-84 setback at Troy on Saturday. Arkansas State will host South Alabama on Wednesday night before the Monarchs get into Jonesboro on Saturday.
Izzy Higginbottom is anchoring the offense and is the eighth-best scorer in the country with 22.2 ppg. She also ranks fourth nationally in free throws (116), fifth in minutes per game (37.42) and sixth in free throw percentage (.913). Following her in scoring for the Red Wolves are Lauryn Pendleton (12.3 ppg) and Anna Griffin (10.7 ppg). Griffin has made a team-best 40 threes on the season, Higginbottom is next with 33, Mailyn Wilkerson (5.9 ppg) has hit 27, and Pendleton is fourth with 25 threes. Wynter Rogers (4.9 ppg) and Griffin lead the effort on the glass with 6.6 and 5.7 rebounds per game, respectively. Pendleton has a team-high 34 steals while Cheyenne Forney (6.1 ppg) has recorded 11 blocks.
A-State averages 69.9 ppg and is allowing 64.1 ppg. The Red Wolves shoot a combined .409 from the field, .338 from the perimeter, and a league-best .771 at the line. The team leads the Sun Belt and 21st nationally with just 12.8 turnovers per game. A-State is also first in the SBC in fouls per game (15.2) and is second in three-point percentage defense (.338). The team is currently 150th in the NET rankings.
The Red Wolves were picked to finish eighth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll and are led by head coach Destinee Rogers, who is in her third season with the program.
Up Next
ODU will be back in Norfolk next Wednesday, Feb. 7 to host Troy for a 6:30 p.m. game at Chartway Arena. The Monarchs will then travel to Kent, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 10 for the second round of the MAC-SBC Challenge that sees them pitted against Kent State. Tipoff against the Golden Flashes is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Women's Basketball Travels to Texas State, Arkansas State
