NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion women’s basketball dropped its first Sun Belt Conference matchup on Wednesday, falling 81-59 to Troy on Education Day with a crowd of 5278 screaming children.
“Our next Sun Belt game is January 1, which is not that far away, we need to win,” said ODU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Roland Jones Jr. “Our first three games in the Sun Belt are at home, those games are ones that you have to win. Because going on the road in the Sun Belt to win games is really, really tough.”
Old Dominion (7-4, 0-1 SBC) went down 3-0 to start the game after Troy (10-1, 0-1 SBC) was awarded an administrative technical free throw due to malfunctioning backboard lights. Troy’s Guion Leilani netted it before tip-off and Zay Dyer scored the opening field goal 32 seconds later. Fortuna Nganwo stretched the early lead to five with two made free throws before ODU’s Nevaeh Scott got the Monarchs on the board at 7:27 with a made jumper.
With 5:38 in the first, ODU’s En’Dya Buford made a three pointer to cut the Silver and Blue’s deficit to two points, 10-8. The Trojans responded with a 9-1 run to go back up 19-9 after two made free throws by Rachel Leggett, a made layup by Saniya Jackson and another by Dyer, and a made jumper by Nganwo. Simaru Fields answered back with a 5-0 ODU run from a mid-range jumper and a deep shot to end the quarter, 19-14.
Troy opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 11 points, 25-14. Kelsey Thompson made a jumper off a Troy turnover, Simone Cunningham finished in the paint for two, and Riley Stack went 2-for-2 at the line after getting fouled while shooting with 5:42 remaining. A minute and a half later, Buford would go 2-for-2 at the charity stripe to make it a one possession game, 28-25. Scott finished a layup in the paint to cut it to a one-point game, the closest ODU would come. Nganwo scored in the paint to go back up three, was fouled, and finished the old-fashioned three-point play with 3:26 left to play, 31-27. The final three minutes was a 11-2 run to go into the break, Troy up 42-29.
The Monarchs were outscored in the third quarter, 19-12. The largest lead of the quarter was 24 after Dyer made a layup in the paint with 5:49 remaining to go up 53-29. ODU would outscore the Trojans the remainder of the quarter, 11-8 and go into the final quarter down by 20, 61-41.
Leggett opened the final stanza with a pair of made free throws before Fields scored a jumper in the paint at 9:33 to give ODU its first points. Dyer and Ngnanwo both went 1-for-2 at the line before Mariah Clayton got ODU another point by going 50% at the line on two shots. Troy’s Emani Jenkins responded with a made three and Dyer would follow up with a fast break layup. Fields came back and netted a three-pointer and Dyer made a mid-range jumper, 72-47 with 5:28 remaining.
ODU outscored the Trojans down the stretch of the fourth quarter, 12-9. Dalanna Carter scored a layup, and Nakiyah Allen made a second chance layup to end the game, 81-59.
“These games are the one game of the year where it's so fun to see the kids having a great time and dancing to the music, eating all the candy,” said Jones Jr. “We beat East Carolina on their Education Day and that was a fun win to go in there and play a high caliber team like East Carolina. Today, you would think those kids would lift you up to a victory, but it just didn’t happen.”
Old Dominion shot 34.3% from the field and 17.6% from behind the arc. ODU grabbed 40 rebounds but conceded 52 to Troy for a -12-rebounding margin. Fields (10) and Buford (9) combined for 19 points between the two guards. Fields’ 10 points was a team high, and Stack’s nine rebounds were a season high. She added on five points and two blocks but exited the game after receiving her fifth foul with 7:20 left in the fourth. ODU did not lead in the contest.
Dyer was the Trojan’s leading scorer this afternoon with 25 points on 50% shooting (9-for-18) and grabbed 14 boards for a double-double. Nganwo also posted a double-double with a team high 17 rebounds and 15 points. Leggett and Jenkins combined for 26 points.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion heads to Cherokee, N.C. for the 2025 Cherokee Invitational. The Monarchs take on Ole Miss on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.