Old Dominion (16-13, 8-8 SBC) at Coastal Carolina (21-6, 11-5 SBC) | at Georgia Southern (12-17, 4-12 SBC)
Game Info – Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. | Friday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Location – HTC Center (Conway, S.C.) | Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center (Statesboro, Ga.)
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 away games this week as the Monarchs play at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday and a rematch with Georgia Southern on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 5 p.m. starts.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and Matthew Hatfield and Shonda Deberry will also call the action on Fox Sports Radio 1310 AM. Live stats will also be available.
The Series
The Monarchs improved to 5-0 all-time against Georgia Southern with a last-second bank three from Simaru Fields, 68-66 on Saturday night in Norfolk. The game was a back-and-forth chess match, with both teams never gaining more than a six-point lead. Kelsey Thompson led the Monarchs with a team-high 14 points against the Eagles.
ODU is up 3-2 in the all-time series versus Coastal Carolina after dropping the last matchup this season 80-77 with having a chance to send the game into overtime at the buzzer. Simaru Fields was the team's leading scorer with 18 points, and Brenda Fontana also had a good scoring night with 15 points.
About ODU
The Monarchs (16-13, 8-8 Sun Belt) won two tough games last week, with the first win coming against Arkansas State 95-88 and the second coming against Georgia Southern 68-66. ODU has moved up to sixth place in the conference standings a week before the conference tournament in Pensacola, Florida, next week and is currently 161st in the NET rankings.
Buford is scoring a team-high 13.0 points per game. Through games played on Feb. 22, she is 16th in the country and first in the conference with 73 steals. She’s also second in the Sun Belt with 96 made free throws, 134 free throw attempts, an 82.1 free-throw percentage, 121 assists and 2.52 steals per game. Simaru Fields is next in scoring with 11.3 ppg and has made a team-high 57 three-pointers. She is also third in the conference with 183 three-point attempts. Kelsey Thompson is scoring 9.3 ppg, and Brenda Fontana nets 7.8 ppg. Simone Cunningham (8.3 ppg) is 14th in the country with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game and leads the Monarchs on the glass with 220 boards (7.6 rpg). She’s also made a team-high 25 blocks, followed by Fontana at 15 blocks and Mariah Clayton (6.0 ppg) with 14 blocks.
The Monarchs come into the week scoring 66.6 ppg and holding opponents to 65 ppg, the fourth-fewest points allowed in the Sun Belt, for a +1.6-scoring margin. ODU is shooting a combined 37.4% from the field, 29.2% from distance, and 68.1% at the free-throw line. The team ranks fifth nationally with 16.5 offensive rebounds per game and 16th with 42.10 rebounds per game. The Monarchs are fourth in the league in three-point percentage defense (29.1%) and fourth in defensive rebounds per game (25.6) and rebounding margin (+3.2).
About Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers (21-6, 11-5) are currently on an eight-game winning streak before the Monarchs come to town on Wednesday. They won their last two games at home by a combined 22 points, defeating Georgia Southern, 64-58 and Arkansas State, 86-70. Against the Eagles, Kristin Williams led the team with 18 points, two steals, and four threes while Jaylen Ponder had a game high of four steals and 13 points.
Coastal has three players scoring in double figures: Savannah Brooks (14.3 ppg), Alancia Ramsey (12.6 ppg), and Kristin Williams (11.3 ppg). Williams leads the conference with 73 threes made and 2.7 threes per game; she is also fourth in the country with three-point attempts with 218. Ramsey leads the conference in field goal percentage with 60.7%, which is also ninth in the nation. Jayden Marable, who averages 9.9 ppg, leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.51 and is fourth in total assists (113) and third in assists per game (4.2). On defense, Brooks is third in steals (59) and steals per game (2.46), and Riley Stack (4.9 ppg) is fourth in blocks (34) and fifth blocks per game (1.26).
The Chants score 75.1 ppg and allow 63.9 ppg for a league-leading +11.2-scoring margin. They are the second-best-scoring offense in the conference, with their scoring defense being third. The team is shooting 43.3% from the field, which leads the league, including 29.8% from distance and 67.4% at the line. CCU is also the league leader in turnover margin (5.41), 3rd in three-point attempts per game (26.4), 2nd in steals per game (11.2), and first in turnovers forced per game (21.04). They’re currently 113th in the NET rankings and 4th in the conference.
About Georgia Southern
The Eagles (12-17, 4-12) are coming off back-to-back losses to Coastal Carolina 64-58 on Wednesday and a heartbreaking loss to Old Dominion on Saturday 68-66. Leah Johnson (20) and Indya Green (16) were the only scorers in double digits against the Chanticleers, with Johnson bringing in 18 rebounds. Against the Monarchs, Nicole Gwynn led all scorers with 22 points, and Green recorded a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. They are currently 12th in the conference with a NET ranking of 202.
Georgia Southern has two players scoring in double figures: Gwynn (13 ppg) and Green (12.1 ppg). Green currently ranks third in the conference with 242 rebounds and 8.3 rebounds per game. Next in scoring are McKenna Eddings (8.8 ppg), who has knocked down 39 threes. Johnson (7.9 ppg) ranks third in the conference for blocks with 39 and in blocks per game with 1.39. Green is the third best rebounder with 242 boards (8.3 rpg), and Nakiyah Mays-Prince has grabbed 52 steals.
The Eagles rank third in the conference in rebounding margin at 3.7. They net 65.8 points per game while giving up 65.6 ppg for a +0.2-scoring margin. GS is shooting 40.5% from the field, 31.9% from beyond the arc, and 65.1% at the charity stripe.
Up Next
The Sun Belt Conference Championship will be hosted at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida on March 4-10. The women’s championship final is scheduled for Monday, March 10 and will air on ESPN 2. The winner will earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.