Old Dominion (14-11, 6-6 SBC) at Marshall (7-17, 2-10 SBC) | at James Madison (21-4, 12-0 SBC)
Game Info – Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.
Location – Cam Henderson Center (Huntington, W.Va.) | Atlantic Union Bank Center (Harrisonburg, 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 has a pair of road games this week as the Monarchs play at Marshall on Thursday night at 6 p.m. and at James Madison on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Fans will be able to watch both games on ESPN+ while Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry will call the games on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM. Live stats will also be available.
The Series
The Monarchs improved to 15-9 all-time against Marshall with an 80-75 win over the Thundering Herd on Jan. 11 in Norfolk. The visitors rallied from a nine-point deficit to come to within a point, 70-69, with 3:35 left in the game, but En’Dya Buford scored eight points and shot 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to clinch the victory. Buford finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals, Kelsey Thompson scored a team-high 20 points, and Brenda Fontana added 10 points.
ODU and JMU played on Feb. 1, with the Dukes handing the Monarchs an 85-62 loss at Chartway Arena. The guests built an early 10-point lead, 13-3 just six minutes into the game and led 47-25 at halftime. Hama’ya Fielder came off the bench in the second half and led ODU with 16 points in 12 minutes of action, shooting 4-for-7 from distance and 4-for-4 at the line. Also scoring in double figures with 14 points and Buford with 13. ODU still leads the all-time series, 52-31, but JMU has won the past 11 meetings.
About ODU
The Monarchs (14-11, 6-6 Sun Belt) took two tough losses last week, losing in the closing seconds at Troy, 83-80, on Wednesday before dropping another tight game against Toledo, 62-56 on Saturday in the second round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. ODU is currently sixth in the conference standings and 160th in the latest NET rankings.
Buford is scoring a team-high 12.6 points per game. Through games played on Feb. 9, she is 24th in the country with 61 steals, ranks second in the Sun Belt with 91 made free throws and 112 free throw attempts, and is third in the league in free throw shooting at 81.3%. The Memphis, Tennessee native needs three more assists to reach 100 for the season. Simaru Fields is next in scoring with 11.1 ppg and has made 48 three-pointers to lead ODU from the perimeter. Kelsey Thompson is scoring 8.7 ppg and Brenda Fontana nets 7.9 ppg. Simone Cunningham (7.6 ppg) is 19th in the country with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game and has pulled down 180 boards (7.2 rpg) to lead the Monarchs on the glass. She’s also made a team-high 19 blocks, Mariah Clayton (6.0 ppg) owns 14 blocks and Fontana is at 13 blocks.
The Monarchs come into the week scoring 66.4 ppg and hold opponents to 64.0 ppg, the third-fewest points allowed in the Sun Belt, for a +2.4-scoring margin. ODU is shooting a combined 37.3% from the field, 29.7% from distance, and 68.5% at the free-throw line. The team ranks sixth nationally with 16.5 offensive rebounds per game and 15th with 42.24 rebounds per game. The Monarchs are third in the league in three-point percentage defense (28.5%) and rebounding margin (+3.4).
About Marshall
The Herd (7-17, 2-10) is looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling in overtime, 92-88 at Louisiana last Wednesday before suffering a 73-68 loss at home to Central Michigan on Saturday. After Thursday’s meeting with the Monarchs, they will host Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Marshall’s offense is led by Aislynn Hayes (16.7 ppg), CC Mays (11.7 ppg), and Meredith Maier (10.1 ppg). Hayes is the conference leader and ranks 24th in Division I in free throw attempts (145) and 35th in free throws made (103). She’s also first in the league in points per game and field goal attempts (350) and is second in points (384). Maier is the team’s top three-point shooter with 53 makes from beyond the arc and Madison Kellione (9.4 ppg) is next with 46. Maier ranks is second in the conference in threes per game (2.41) and third in three-point attempts (158). Blessing King (3.4 ppg) owns team highs with 121 rebounds (5.3 rpg) and 20 blocks.
The Herd nets 68.0 ppg while giving up 69.7 for a -1.6-scoring margin. Marshall is shooting 38.3% from the floor, 32.4% from the perimeter, and 68.6% at the charity stripe. The team is eighth in the country with 29.1 three-point attempts per game and 13th in threes made per game with 9.4. They’re also third in the Sun Belt with 19.38 free throw attempts per game.
Marshall is 206th in the NET rankings and 13th in the conference standings.
About James Madison
The Dukes (21-4,12-0) cruised past South Alabama, 76-62 in Mobile last Wednesday and used a late 7-0 run to edge Ball State, 78-74 on Saturday. Kseniia Kozlova led the team against the Jaguars with 18 points and eight rebounds while Ashanti Barnes added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Peyton McDaniel then led the team against the Cardinals with 19 points and eight rebounds. Ashanti Barnes also grabbed eight boards and was right behind McDaniel with 18 points, and Kozlova chipped in 12 points with six rebounds.
James Madison has now won 13 in a row, is atop the league standings, and ranks fourth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The team is also 52nd in the NET rankings.
JMU has four players scoring in double figures: McDaniel (15.5 ppg), Kozlova (11.8 ppg), Ro Scott (11.7 ppg), and Barnes (10.6 ppg). McDaniel currently ranks 36th in the country with nine double-doubles and 160 three-point attempts. The conference leader with 388 points, she’s also second in the Sun Belt in field goals (138), field goal attempts (320), threes (56), rebounds (210), and rebounds per game (8.4). Scott has knocked down 34 triples, Barnes is up to 182 boards (7.3 rpg), and Kozlova owns 173 (7.2 rpg). On defense, McDaniel has 52 steals and 19 blocks, Bree Robinson (4.8 ppg) has grabbed 44 steals, and Kozlova follows McDaniel with 11 blocks.
The Dukes rank seventh nationally in both three-point percentage defense (25.1%) and defensive rebounds per game (30.1). They’re also 13th in rebounds per game (42.64), 21st in field goal percentage defense (36.4%), and 24th in winning percentage (84.0%). JMU scores 72.6 ppg, allows the fewest points in the conference at 62.8 ppg, and is second in the SBC with a +9.8-scoring margin. The team is shooting 42.0% from the floor, 29.5% from the perimeter, and 73.0% at the line. JMU opens its week with a 5 p.m. home game against App State on Thursday.
Up Next
ODU has its final two home games of the regular season next week. The team will host Arkansas State for an 11 a.m. Education Day game on Thursday, Feb. 20 before playing Georgia Southern on Saturday, Feb. 22 on what will mark Senior Day for the Monarchs. Tipoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 2 p.m.