Old Dominion (5-1) vs. #11 Ohio State (5-0) | vs. Oakland (2-4)
Game Info – Thursday, Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. | Saturday, Nov. 30 at 3:30 p.m.
Location – Daytona Beach Ocean Center (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Watch – BallerTV ($)
Listen – ESPN Radio 94.1 (Thursday) | Fox Sports Radio 1310 (Saturday)
Tickets – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women's basketball will spend its Thanksgiving in the Sunshine State as the Monarchs square off against #11 Ohio State and Oakland in the Daytona Beach Classic. Tipoff against the Buckeyes is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday and Saturday’s meeting with the Golden Grizzlies is set for a 3:30 p.m. start.
The three-day tournament is being held at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center with all games streamed on BallerTV. For $20, fans can purchase an event pass that will allow them to stream all nine games of the Classic. Single day passes will be good for all games that day and run $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 5-17. Children ages 4 and under will be admitted free.
Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry will cover Thursday’s game on ESPN Radio 94.1 and the pair will call Saturday’s game on Fox Sports Radio 1310.
Other teams competing in the tournament include Arkansas, Bowling Green, Oklahoma State, Richmond, Stetson and Utah State.
The Series
ODU and Ohio State are meeting for the fifth time on Thursday and the Monarchs lead the all-time series, 3-1. Old Dominion won 72-48 in Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 26, 1979 and then defeated OSU, 85-56 win on Feb. 16, 1980 in Norfolk. The two programs then met in the East Regional Finals of the 1985 NCAA Tournament, a game the Monarchs won 72-68 at the ODU Fieldhouse en route to capturing the program’s third national title.
The two teams last faced each other on Nov. 22, 2013 in the inaugural James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge, a game that saw the Buckeyes come out on top, 75-60. Shae Kelley led all scorers with 21 points and was one rebound shy of her career high with 16. Also scoring in double figures for the Monarchs was Stephanie Gardner with 17 points and Galaisha Goodhope with 11 points.
Old Dominion and Oakland have only played once before on Dec. 21, 2017 at the Holiday Hoops Classic, held at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Grizzlies took that game, 80-59. Victoria Morris tied her career high with 20 points to lead ODU and Odegua Oigbokie finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
About ODU
The Monarchs (5-1) put together a 14-0 run early in the second quarter and never looked back as ODU earned a 63-39 wire-to-wire victory over William & Mary on Tuesday night in Norfolk. It marked the team’s fifth straight victory this season and the seventh-straight against the Tribe. Kelsey Thompson paced the offense with a season-high 16 points, adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals to her totals.
En’Dya Buford is the team’s leading scorer with 10.8 points per game. The graduate student from Memphis, Tennessee currently ranks third in the Sun Belt free throws made (23), free throw percentage (85.2), assists (26) and assists per game (4.3). Not far behind Buford in scoring are Simaru Fields (9.2 ppg) and Thompson (9.0). Mikayla Brown is averaging 7.2 ppg and leads ODU on the glass with 5.8 rebounds per game, while Buford and Mariah Clayton (6.8 ppg) follow with 5.0 rpg. Buford has grabbed a team-best 10 steals and Clayton and Simone Cunningham (6.7 ppg) have recorded four blocks each.
ODU is scoring 63.0 ppg and has outscored its opponents by an average of 10.0 points. The Monarchs are shooting 35.8% from the field, 27.1% from distance, and 68.1% at the free-throw line. Through games played on Nov. 26, the team ranks 11th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (17.8), 12th in three-point percentage defense (21.0), and 33rd in field goal percentage defense (34.2).
The Monarchs are receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
About #11 Ohio State
The Buckeyes (5-0) hosted Bowling Green this past Sunday and downed the Falcons, 96-53 as five different players scored in double figures. Ava Watson led the way with 20 points, Chance Gray was next with 18, Taylor Thierry and Jaloni Cambridge both netted 17, and Kennedy Cambridge scored 10.
Four Buckeyes are averaging double figures: Gray is first at 18.0 ppg, Jaloni Cambridge is second at 17.0 ppg, Cotie McMahon enters Thursday netting 16.3 ppg, and Thierry is scoring 12.2 ppg. Gray has knocked down 20 three-pointers this season, good for 17th in the country, and she’s also fourth in all of Division I with 4.00 threes per game. Elsa Lemmilä scores 7.6 ppg and is the top rebounder at 7.8 rpg. The freshman center from Finland ranks 28th nationally with 14 blocks and 12th with 2.80 blocks per game. Madison Greene (3.8 ppg) ranks seventh with a 5.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Buckeyes average 93.4 points and own a +37.4 scoring margin. The team is shooting a combined 34.8% from the floor, 38.9% from long range, and 63.6% at the stripe. Ohio State ranks fifth in scoring offense and turnover margin (14.20), ninth in scoring margin, 12th in turnovers per game (11.6) and steals per game (14.8), 13th in assist-to-turnover margin (1.53), 14th in turnovers forced per game (25.80), and 16th in three-pointers per game (10.2).
About Oakland
The Golden Grizzlies (2-4) dropped three in a row before getting back in the win column with a 76-65 final at Central Michigan on Sunday. Oakland led 52-51 going into the fourth quarter and outscored the Chippewas 24-14 over the final 10 minutes. Maddy Skorupski led all players with 28 points as she shot 9-for-17 from the floor and 9-for-13 at the line. Lianna Baxter scored 17 points, Kylie Buckley had 13 points, and Macy Smith contributed 10 points.
Skorupski and Smith lead the offense with 17.7 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Smith has the hot hand from the perimeter with 13 threes this season while Madison Royal-Davis (3.8 ppg) pulls down 4.8 rebounds per outing. Skorupski owns a team-high 14 assists and ranks seventh in the country in both steals (23) and steals per game (3.83).
Oakland is scoring 61.8 ppg, but has been outscored by an average of 11.8 points. The Golden Grizzlies come into the Classic shooting 22.5% from the field, 27.4% from beyond the arc, and 65.1% at the line. The team leads the Horizon League with 11.2 steals per game and is second in its conference with 11.8 offensive rebounds per game. Before Saturday’s game with ODU, Oakland will play Richmond at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Up Next
ODU will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina for a 2 p.m. game at NC State on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Wolfpack is currently ranked 20th in the AP Poll.