Old Dominion (14-7, 6-3 SBC) vs. Georgia State (9-11, 3-6 SBC) | vs. James Madison (17-4, 9-0 SBC)
Game Info – Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
Location – Chartway Arena (Norfolk, Va.)
Watch – ESPN+ (Game 1 | Game 2)
Listen – Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women's basketball hosts Georgia State on Wednesday night and plays again on Saturday in a TowneBank Royal Rivalry game against James Madison. Tipoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the second game against the Dukes is set for a 2 p.m. start.
Additionally, the Monarchs will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Saturday and the game will be a White Out.
Fans will be able to watch both games on ESPN+ with Chip Tarkenton providing play-by-play and Kim Aston adding color commentary. Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry can be heard on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM and live stats will also be available.
The Series
The Monarchs own a 21-1 lead when squaring off with the Panthers and have won 14 in a row against GSU. Georgia State hosted ODU this past Saturday at the Convocation Center in Atlanta. The Monarchs put together an early 10-0 run in the first quarter and remained out front the rest of the way. Simaru Fields paced ODU with 19 points and knocked down a new career best with five three-pointers, adding four rebounds and four assists to her totals. Simone Cunningham recorded a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double and Brenda Fontana scored 12 points.
ODU leads JMU 52-30 in the all-time series but dropped both meetings with the Dukes last season. The Monarchs suffered a 72-64 loss at JMU on Jan. 20 last season in Harrisonburg. En’Dya Buford tallied 18 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals. On March 1 in Norfolk, the Monarchs also fell short to the Dukes, 70-58. The Monarchs were led by Brenda Fontana with 14 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Kaye Clark also scored in double figures with 12 points.
About ODU
The Monarchs (14-7, 6-3 Sun Belt) split their two away games last week, losing 74-66 at App State on Thursday before bouncing back with a 64-57 win over Georgia State on Saturday. ODU is currently fifth in the conference standings.
En’Dya Buford is scoring a team-high 12.7 points per game. As of Jan. 26, she ranks 26th in the country with 54 steals and 35th with 2.57 steals per game. She is second in the Sun Belt with 84 made free throws and 104 free throw attempts, and is third in the league in free throw shooting at 80.8% and assists with 83. Simaru Fields is next in scoring with 10.4 ppg and has made 34 three-pointers to lead ODU from the perimeter, followed by Kelsey Thompson who is scoring 8.7 ppg. Simone Cunningham (7.7 ppg) is 26th in Division I with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game and has pulled down 146 rebounds (7.0 rpg) this season. She’s made a team-high 17 blocks, followed closely by Mariah Clayton (6.1 ppg) with 14 blocks and Brenda Fontana (7.8 ppg) with 10 blocks.
Old Dominion is 140th in the NET rankings and is receiving votes in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. The Monarchs score 66.1 ppg, are giving up the second-fewest points in the Sun Belt (62.0 ppg), and own a +4.2-scoring margin. The team is shooting 37.4% from the field, including 28.8% from deep, and 68.3% at the free-throw line. ODU is fifth in the nation with 17.0 offensive rebounds per game and 11th in rebounds per game 43.38. The Monarchs are second in the SBC in free throw attempts per game (19.48) and are third in the conference with a 38.2% field goal percentage defense, 27% three-point percentage defense, and a +5.1-rebounding margin.
About Georgia State
The Panthers (9-11, 3-6) came away with a tough 75-72 victory against Coastal Carolina last Wednesday and then fell short against Old Dominion, 64-57 on Saturday. Mya Williams had 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists to help lead GSU past the Chanticleers. Kaleigh Addie recorded 20 points with four rebounds and Mikyla Tolivert scored 12 points with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. In Saturday’s loss to the Monarchs, Tolivert finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals while Patience Williams ended up with 13 points and four boards.
Georgia State has two players averaging double figures: Tolivert enters the week with 13.4 ppg, and Addies averages 11.0 ppg. Henderson and Mya Williams are close to double digits with 9.7 and 9.5 ppg, respectively. Mya Williams and Addie are the primary threats from distance with a combined 67 shots made from the perimeter. Henderson is the conference leader with 34.59 minutes per game, 93 assists, and 4.7 assists per game. She’s second in steals (51), steals per game (2.55), and assist/turnover ratio (1.75). Patience Williams (5.1 ppg) leads the team in rebounds with 109 (5.5 rpg), and Mahogany Matthews (7.4 ppg) ranks sixth in the country with 52 blocks and is seventh with 2.60 blocks per game.
GSU is 227th in the latest NET rankings and is 29th nationally in steals per game (11.2). The Panthers own a -2.8-scoring margin as they average 66.3 ppg but allow 69.1. The team is shooting 39.1% from the field, 32.1% from the perimeter, and 71.9% at the line.
Head Coach Gene Hill is in his seventh season with the program. The Panthers were picked eighth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll with Henderson and Tolivert both earning Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team honors. Following Wednesday’s game, GSU will travel to Boone, North Carolina for a 3:30 p.m. game at App State on Saturday.
About James Madison
The Dukes (17-4,9-0) cruised past Southern Miss, 62-47 at home last Friday and pulled away with another win against Coastal Carolina 76-69 on Sunday. Ashanti Barnes led the team against the Eagles with a double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds. Peyton McDaniel also added her own double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. McDaniel then led the team against the Chanticleers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Kseniia Kozlova added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Barnes and Ro Scott both had 12 points with seven rebounds.
McDaniel repeated as Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday, marking the third time this season she has earned the award.
JMU's offense is led by the trio of McDaniel (15.8 ppg), Scott (11.8 ppg), and Kozlova (11.5 ppg), with Barnes close to double figures at 9.4 ppg. McDaniel is the primary threat from distance with 48 threes, and Scott has made 28. The Sun Belt’s leading scorer with 331 points, McDaniel is also second in the league in double-Doubles (7), field goals made (118), field goal attempts (273), rebounds (174), rebounds per game (8.3), and three-point shooting (34.8%). The Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year has also made a team-high 14 blocks.
The Dukes are 53rd in the NET rankings and eighth in the Mid-Major Poll. They rank third in the SBC in both scoring offense (71.3 ppg) and scoring defense (62.4 ppg) and are second in scoring margin (+8.9). The team is shooting 41.2% from the floor, 27.8% from beyond the arc, and a league-best 75.0% at the line. JMU commits the fewest fouls in the conference at 16.1 per game and ranks fourth in the nation in three-point percentage defense (24.0).
JMU, voted the favorite to win the conference this season, received 12 of the 14 first-place votes in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll. In addition to McDaniel, Kozlova was voted to the Preseason Second Team and Scott to the Third Team. Head Coach Sean O’Regan is in his ninth season in Harrisonburg and the Dukes open the week with a 6 p.m. game at Georgia Southern on Wednesday.
Up Next
ODU will play a 7 p.m. EST game at Troy next Wednesday, Feb. 5 before returning home to host Toledo in the second round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff against the Rockets is scheduled for 2 p.m.