HARRISONBURG, Va. – Old Dominion women’s basketball trailed by only six points midway through the fourth quarter, but James Madison pulled away down the stretch as the Monarchs fell 66-53 in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry game on Saturday afternoon.
ODU drops to 14-13 overall and 6-8 in the Sun Belt with the loss.
"A tough loss,” said ODU Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones, “yet we showed a toughness that’s pleasing to see as we continue to fight for a coveted win!”
The Monarchs were down by 13, 50-37 early in the fourth, but a couple of 2-for-2 efforts at the line by Brenda Fontana and Simone Cunningham, along with a pair of three-pointers by En’Dya Buford and Simaru Fields, helped cut the JMU lead to 55-49 with 5:39 to play.
The Dukes (23-4, 14-0) responded with an 11-2 swing though as ODU fell behind 66-51 with a little over a minute left. Buford earned a trip to the line and made both of her free throws to close out the scoring.
Cunningham posted her second double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds as she shot 6-for-11 from the floor and 2-for-3 at the line. She added four assists and two steals to her totals. Fields made four shots from distance for a team-high 15 points and grabbed four rebounds, four steals and made one block. Buford was also in double figures, scoring 10 points with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
The Monarchs combined to shoot 19-for-73 (26.0%) from the field, 6-for-29 (20.7%) from beyond the arc, and 9-for-13 (69.2%) at the line. ODU scored more points off turnovers (14-11) and more second-chance points (19-7), but JMU scored more in the paint (28-22), more off the bench (18-16), and outrebounded the Monarchs, 46-39.
JMU opened the game with a 5-0 run before Fields got ODU on the board with a triple at the 8:26 mark. She added another three ball over a minute and a half later, and Fontana also made a shot from distance to keep the Monarchs within a point at 10-9. The Dukes pushed their lead to 16-12, but Sarah Hammack Fitzgerald and Cunningham put up a pair of layups in the final minute to tie the game at the end of the first.
An early 8-0 run in the second allowed the hosts to get some separation at 24-17, and JMU led 31-22 at halftime.
Jumpers by Fields and Kelsey Thompson helped keep ODU to within four points in the third, but the Dukes took off again with another eight unanswered. They were up 48-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
ODU returns to Norfolk for its final two home games of the regular season next week. The Monarchs will host Arkansas State for an 11 a.m. Education Day game on Thursday, Feb. 20 and will then face Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.