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by Pierce Yarberry

Simaru Fields hits five threes in 64-57 win at Georgia State

Simaru Fields hits five threes in 64-57 win at Georgia StateSimaru Fields hits five threes in 64-57 win at Georgia State

ATLANTA – An early 10-0 run in the opening quarter, along with some strong three-point shooting and late defense, helped Old Dominion women’s basketball come away with a 64-57 road win over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at the GSU Convocation Center.

The Monarchs improve to 14-7 overall and 6-3 in the Sun Belt, while the Panthers fall to 9-11 with a 3-6 record in league play.

“I’m super proud of what we accomplished today. This could have been a situation where the road wasn’t kind to us, we’re coming off a two-game losing streak and we could’ve laid down. But [the team] found a way to dig deep and they showed me that there’s a lot of fight left in this dog,” said ODU Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Simaru Fields, a junior guard from Gulfport, Mississippi, was one point shy of matching her season high as she tallied 19 points. She shot 7-for-15 from the field and set a new career best with a 5-for-10 effort from beyond the arc. Fields also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists in over 34 minutes of action.

Asked about Fields getting more comfortable in the last two games, Milton-Jones said, “She definitely is. She’s one of those players to where you kind of have to live with some of her mistakes and her aggressive play because she’s a rhythm-type player and very instinctive. Today she found that balance between using her instincts and allowing the rhythm to put her in a groove where she can dance within the system of whatever it was that we were calling.”

“Had it not been for her effort, it could have been a different outcome.”

Simone Cunningham recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 boards and 10 points. Brenda Fontana also scored in double figures with 12 points and seven rebounds, and En’Dya Buford netted eight points with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mariah Clayton and Camryn Hill contributed seven and six points, respectively off the bench with Clayton and making a pair of blocks.

ODU combined to shoot 23-for-60 (38.3%) from the floor, 9-for-26 (34.6%) from long range, and 9-for-11 (81.8%) at the line. The Monarchs outrebounded the Panthers, 48-28 and scored more second-chance points (12-6) and fast-break points (8-2). There were only three lead changes and Old Dominion was out front for 37:36.

“We did it on the defensive end. We know that our defense travels well for us. We rebounded the ball well today, and that allowed us to have the ability to get out and run,” continued Milton-Jones.

GSU’s Mikyla Tolivert opened the scoring with a jumper, and Fields answered with a three from the top of the arc to give ODU its first lead. The Panthers regained control on a Cheyenne Holloman triple, but threes from Buford and Clayton highlighted a 10-0 run that put the Monarchs (14-7, 6-3) ahead, 13-5 at the 4:16 mark. The hosts trimmed that lead down to five as ODU led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Some strong free throw shooting helped push ODU’s lead to double digits in the second quarter. Cunningham got to the line with just over six minutes to go in the half and proceeded to make both of her shots. Fields then knocked down another deep ball and scored a fast break layup before Hill made both of her free throws. Fontana and Hill also got to the line late, and the 8-for-8 combined shooting at the line swelled the lead to 36-24 with 44 seconds left. A Tolivert layup wrapped up the first half and the Monarchs took a 36-26 lead into the locker room.

GSU came out strong in the third quarter. Tolivert went 2-for-2 at the stripe and Kaleigh Addie connected from distance to cut the ODU lead to 36-31. Later, a Tolivert three-pointer highlighted a 7-0 run as the Panthers were back within two at 41-39. Buford and Patience Williams traded threes, Cunningham got a layup to fall, and Clayton scored on the fast break to put the Monarchs up 48-42 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Fields and Fontana went back-to-back from the perimeter to start the fourth quarter and push the ODU lead back to 10 at 54-42. GSU then scored seven unanswered, but Fields connected two more times from beyond the arc and Fontana added a layup for a 62-52 lead with 4:07 left in the game. That proved to be enough as the Monarch defense held the Panthers to just five more points the rest of the way.

The win also marks the 14th straight over the Panthers in the all-time series. ODU is now 21-1 when playing GSU. The win was also Coach Milton-Jones’ 95th in her time at ODU.

The two teams will see each other again soon as the Monarchs will host the Panthers next Wednesday, Jan. 29, for a 6:30 p.m. game at Chartway Arena.

“I know that we have them coming up in a few days, so we’re going to have to shape back up and clean some things up because GSU is going to come in ready.”