WASHINGTON, D.C. – En’Dya Buford recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, Simaru Fields followed with 13 points and Kelsey Thompson had 12 points as Old Dominion women’s basketball secured a 75-58 road win over Howard on Tuesday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium.
“It definitely felt good to see us win and redeem ourselves from a couple nights before when we played against ECU,” said ODU Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. “We did an excellent job of being disciplined and showing a high level of trust in each other and in the game plan.”
The Monarchs (7-4) won each quarter and combined to shoot 25-for-57 (43.9%) from the field, 6-for-23 (26.1%) from distance, and 19-for-25 (76.0%) at the free-throw line. ODU also held the lead for over 33 minutes, compared to a little over a minute by the Bison (6-6), and won the rebounding battle, 46-44.
The double-double marked the second in as many games for Buford. The graduate student from Memphis, Tennessee logged 35 minutes and went 5-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-5 from long range, and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. She added four assists and two steals to her totals.
“I thought En’Dya did a great job of leading the charge and really formatting the attack for us on both ends of the floor,” Milton-Jones said of Buford’s effort. “She is developing into a tremendous leader that accompanies the skill she has a ball player.”
The first quarter remained close and was knotted at 7-7 until Buford and Thompson scored back-to-back buckets. Buford then made it a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from the right wing as ODU led 14-7 with 2:19 to play. Howard’s Destiny Howell then closed out the opening stanza with a couple of free throws.
ODU got some separation in the second quarter as Brenda Fontana earned a trip to the line and converted both of her free throws. Thompson followed with a couple of pullup jumpers, Simaru Fields drained a three, and Buford added a second-chance basket as the 11-0 run pushed the Monarchs lead to 27-13 at the 4:42 mark. The hosts started to get their shots to fall from the perimeter as a couple of transition threes by Kaiya Creek made it 27-19, and a third long ball from Howell cut the ODU lead to 29-22. A couple of 2-for-2 efforts at the line by Jadyn Atchison and Camryn Hill helped push the advantage back to double digits as the Monarchs went into the locker room with a 37-27 cushion.
The Monarchs put together another 11-0 in the third quarter. Fontana assisted Buford on a three ball to open the run before Buford made a pair of free throws and a jumper. Hill and Fontana then put together a couple of 1-for-2 efforts at the line and Mariah Clayton made a driving layup as ODU went up 54-35 with 2:13 left in the quarter. Howell responded with a turnaround jumper, Vanessa Blake got her layup to fall, and Howell nailed a corner three as the teams went into the fourth with ODU in control, 58-42.
The final 10 minutes of play proved to be the closest quarter of the game with ODU edging Howard, 17-16. Zennia Thomas and Howell combined for a quick 5-0 push by the Bison as the trailed 71-56, but the game was out of reach by then with just under three minutes to play. Sarai Estupiñan fed Hama’ya Fielder for a long ball and Blake hit a jumper to close out the scoring.
“When you have wins like this, it really plants seeds for success for the future,” added Milton-Jones. “When you follow the scouting and trust and communicate right, then good things can happen.”
A key part of the game proved to be ODU’s transition play. The Monarchs scored 18 points off of 13 Howard turnovers and outscored the Bisons, 24-3 on the fast break.
“That was an emphasis that we had. We wanted our defense to be able to produce points as it always has all season long. It’s just that we weren’t converting on the other end. We cleaned up some things in terms of how we were running and how often we were running. That allowed us to find open lanes for those types of opportunities or skip passes for big time threes from big time shooters.”
The Monarchs will be back at Chartway Arena this Sunday when they host Delaware for a 2 p.m. game.
Tuesday's game marked Education Day for the Bison, and a total of 996 elementary and high school students were in attendance.