TROY, Ala. – Old Dominion women’s basketball came back from a 10-point deficit, but fell just short as the Monarchs dropped a 83-80 decision at Troy on Wednesday night.
Brenda Fontana and Simaru Fields made back-to-back threes early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 65-65. Later, another long ball by Fields put ODU ahead 75-73, but Troy’s Briana Peguero answered with a three of her own. Camryn Hill then made 1-of-2 shots at the line for another tie at 76-76 with 1:29 left.
With 22 seconds remaining, Peguero then completed an and-one opportunity that put the Trojans (15-9, 9-3 Sun Belt) up by five, 82-77. Fields came through with another three-pointer, but Peguero made another free throw leaving ODU with 10 seconds and no timeouts left. Fields tried to drive in the paint and draw contact, but her shot was blocked and the hosts grabbed the rebound to finish out the game.
"Gutsy loss tonight, but I'm proud of the tenacity we showed to battle until the end," said ODU Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. "The Major component to tonight's loss was ultimately our untimely lack of focus and ability to get crucial stops in the most critical moments."
Fields scored a season-high 26 points thanks to a 6-for-10 effort from distance. En’Dya Buford went 3-for-4 from long range and netted 19 points with eight rebounds, and Fontana was right behind her with 18 points. Simone Cunningham contributed nine points with as many boards.
ODU drops to 14-10 overall and 6-6 in Sun Belt play with the loss. Troy won the battle on the glass, 52-36, and scored more points in the paint (36-24), off turnovers (12-10), off the bench (25-3), and second-chance points (21-12). Both teams committed 10 turnovers and both scored nine points on fast breaks.
The Monarchs combined to shoot 28-for-67 (41.8%) from the floor, 13-for-28 (46.4%) from the perimeter, and 11-for-16 (68.8%) at the line.
Troy got out to a quick 7-2 start to the opening quarter, but a pair of three-pointers from Buford and Thompson opened up a 16-0 run as the Monarchs led 18-7 at the 4:23 mark. However, the hosts put together a 14-0 run in response to take over 26-23 before Buford hit another three to tie the score at 26-26 at the end of the first.
ODU kept it close in the second quarter as Simaru Fields drained an open look at a three to knot the game at 32-32. After Fontana earned a trip to the line and made both of her shots, the Trojans put together an 8-0 push to pull ahead 43-34 with two minutes left. Buford broke the scoring drought with a driving layup and Troy made three more free throws to take a 46-36 lead into the locker room.
In the third, a Fontana jumper and layups by Fields and Buford cut the deficit to a point, 48-47 at the 4:27 mark. With under three minutes to play, the Trojans used a 7-0 push to go up 59-51. Fontana then hit a triple from the right wing as ODU went into the final 10 minutes trailing, 59-54.
ODU is back at Chartway Arena this Saturday as the Monarchs host Toledo in the second round of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.