ATLANTA – En'Dya Buford scored a career high 25 points and Old Dominion women's basketball earned a 67-51 win at Georgia State on Saturday night at the GSU Convocation Center.
With the win, the Monarchs improve to 20-7 overall and 11-5 in the Sun Belt. It marks the program's third-straight 20-win season and its fifth in the past six seasons.
Jordan McLaughlin opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the right wing and Buford followed with a three from the top of the arc. After Mikyla Tolivert scored a layup to put the Panthers (15-12, 9-7) on the board, Buford had another make from distance and Brenda Fontana got her shot to fall as ODU built an 11-2 lead. The sides traded baskets for the remainder of the first quarter, and McLaughlin made one more three as the Monarchs led 21-10 heading into the second.
Buford scored seven of ODU's 11 points in the second stanza. GSU took advantage of several scoring droughts by the Monarchs, putting together a 7-0 run and then a 6-0 run to close out the half. That trimmed ODU's lead to single digits, but the Monarchs were still in control 32-27 at the break.
In the third quarter, a Buford free throw and a Cunningham layup pushed ODU's lead back to double digits at 41-31. In the final minute of the quarter, Buford got to the line and made both of her shots before hitting a jumper. Cunningham then converted 1-of-2 free throw attempts and the Monarchs went into the final 10 minutes with a 54-42 cushion.
The Panthers got some life at the beginning of the fourth, scoring five straight points to close the gap to 54-47. That's when Buford scored five points of her own to open up an 11-0 response that solidified the win for the Monarchs.
A senior from Memphis, Tennessee, Buford shot 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-6 at the free-throw line to pace the Monarchs. She also grabbed nine rebounds and added three assists and three steals to her totals.
McLaughlin also finished in double figures with 12 points and three steals, and Simone Cunningham led ODU on the glass with 10 boards while netting eight points.
As a team, the Monarchs went 23-for-64 (.359) from the floor, 6-for-19 (.316) from long range, and 15-for-24 (.625) at the line. ODU never trailed in the game and held the lead for all but 17 seconds. The Monarchs edged the Panthers in points off turnovers (24-10), second-chance points (12-2), fast-break points (17-5), bench points (13-12) and rebounds (41-30). The team also collected 15 steals, two shy of its season high.
The Monarchs are now tied for third in the conference standings alongside James Madison with two games left in the regular season. The top four teams in the standings will earn a two-round bye to the Quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Championship.
ODU is back on its home court for its final two games of league play, hosting Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and James Madison for a 6:30 p.m. game next Friday.
Buford Sets New Career High in 67-51 Win at Georgia State
