Old Dominion (17-6, 8-4 Sun Belt) vs. Coastal Carolina (8-17, 2-10 Sun Belt) | vs. Marshall (17-6, 11-1 Sun Belt)
Game Info – Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
Location – Chartway Arena (Norfolk, Va.)
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. – Coastal Carolina and Marshall are both coming to Chartway Arena this week as Old Dominion women's basketball hosts the Chanticleers for a 6:30 p.m. game on Wednesday and the Thundering Herd at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
ODU's meeting with Marshall will mark the team's Play4Kay game in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and its mission to raise money for life-saving cancer research and underserved programs that provide access to quality cancer healthcare. Free t-shirts and pom poms will be given out while supplies last.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN with Chip Tarkenton and Kim Aston on the call. Fans can also tune into Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 to hear Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry or follow along with live stats.
The Series
ODU took a 2-1 series lead over CCU earlier this season when the Monarchs won 71-57 in Conway, South Carolina on Jan. 10. Kaye Clark and En'Dya Buford scored 14 points apiece while Jordan McLaughlin flirted with a double-double, scoring nine points with eight rebounds.
The Monarchs still lead their all-time series versus the Herd 14-7, but dropped their Jan. 18 game in Huntington, West Virginia by a final score of 90-60. ODU built a 13-point lead in the second quarter and was tied at 34-34 at halftime, but 10 three-pointers by Marshall allowed the hosts to pull away in the fourth. Buford and Brenda Fontana finished with 14 points and six rebounds each while Simone Cunningham contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
About ODU
The Monarchs (17-6, 8-4 Sun Belt) are coming off a 2-0 week that saw them defeat Troy at home 63-59 last Wednesday and an 82-76 road win against Kent State in the second round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. McLaughlin was voted the conference Player of the Week on Tuesday after leading ODU with 38 points and shooting a combined 14-for-16 (.875) from the free-throw line to clinch both wins.
ODU enters the week at the No. 119 spot in the latest NET rankings and the team is also receiving votes in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The Monarchs are averaging 63.4 points per game and lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense with 59.0 points allowed per game. ODU is also tied with Marshall for the league's best winning percentage and is 25th in the country in steals per game (10.8) and 26th in turnovers forced per game (20.52). The Monarchs are shooting a combined .373 from the field, including a .271 clip from distance, and .676 at the line.
Buford (11.6 ppg) and McLaughlin (10.7 ppg) are the top two scorers for ODU. Clark is next with 8.7 ppg followed closely by Fontana (8.4 ppg). Buford and Fontana are the top two three-point shooters with 30 and 28 makes, respectively from beyond the arc. On the glass, Cunningham (6.5 ppg) has pulled down a team-high 158 rebounds and averages 6.9 boards per outing. McLaughlin is the leader in assists with 64, Lanetta Williams (3.3 ppg) owns 19 blocks, and Cunningham is up to 16 blocks. Clark is the conference leader in both steals and steals per game. She's currently eighth in the nation with 75 steals and ninth with 3.26 steals per game.
With six games remaining in the regular season, ODU is currently tied for fourth in the conference standings alongside Georgia State.
About Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers (8-17, 2-10 Sun Belt) have dropped their past two games, falling 80-70 to App State on Feb. 3 and losing a close game to Texas State, 52-49 last Wednesday. CCU was off this past Saturday as the team did not participate in this season's MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.
Coastal is currently 239th in the most recent NET rankings and the team is averaging 66.6 ppg while giving up 72.9 ppg. The Chanticleers come into Wednesday's game shooting .396 as a team, .266 from the perimeter, and .631 at the charity stripe. CCU's best statistical category is in free-throw attempts, ranking ninth in the country with 23.32 per game. The Chants are also third in the Sun Belt in free throws made per game (14.72) and blocks per game (3.3).
The team has three players scoring in double figures: Deaja Richardson leads the way at 14.3 ppg, Makaila Cange is second at 12.8 ppg, and Arin Freeman is right behind her with 12.7 ppg. Richardson is the deep threat with 40 threes made on the season, Cange is the top rebounder with 203 boards (8.1 rpg), and Alancia Ramsey (9.4 ppg/7.5 rpg) ranks 23rd nationally with 3.8 offensive rebounds per outing. Freeman has dished out 71 assists, Richardson and Freeman have combined for 75 steals, and Riley Stack (2.7 ppg) leads the conference with 36 blocks and 1.44 blocks per game.
Coastal is currently 13th in the league standings and will play at James Madison on Saturday.
About Marshall
The Thundering Herd (17-6, 11-1 Sun Belt) was handed its first loss in league play on Feb. 3, falling 72-63 to JMU in Huntington. Marshall then bounced back with a dominant win over Louisiana, 74-42 last Wednesday as the Herd held the Ragin' Cajuns to their lowest scoring total of the season. Marshall was also off this past Saturday as the rest of the conference completed the second leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
The Herd was ranked 22nd in last week's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and are currently 95th in the NET rankings. They are the seventh-best scoring offense in the country with 84.0 ppg and are outscoring opponents by an average of 13.3 points. The team takes the most three-point attempts in NCAA Division I with 30.8 per contest. Marshall also ranks third in steals per game (13.2), fourth in threes made per game (10.2) and turnover margin (7.26), fifth in turnovers forced per game (23.48), 14th in offensive rebounds per game (15.4), and 16th in free-throw attempts per game (22.13).
Abby Beeman paces the offense with 16.4 ppg. A guard from Ridgeley, West Virginia, she's third in the nation with two triple doubles, 11th in assists (140), and 12th in assists per game (6.1). Also scoring in double figures are Breanna Campbell (15.2 ppg) and Aislynn Hayes (14.4 ppg), while Mahogany Matthews is close to double digits at 9.1 ppg. Beeman has made a team-high 51 threes, followed by Hayes with 43 and Sydni Scott (6.7 ppg) with 35. Beeman also owns a team-best 139 boards (6.0 rpg) and 54 steals and Matthews is second in the Sun Belt with 35 blocks.
Marshall sits atop the Sun Belt standings and will start off its week with a 12 p.m. game at App State on Thursday.
Up Next
Next week will see ODU traveling to App State and Georgia State. The Monarchs start off their road trip with a 6:30 p.m. meeting with the Mountaineers on Thursday, Feb. 22. The team will then head to Atlanta to square off with the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24.
ODU Women's Basketball Resumes Conference Play Against Coastal Carolina, Marshall
