ODU Women's Basketball Relies on a Gritty Defensive Effort to Down App State, 65-54
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va – It wasn’t an artful game, but the Old Dominion women’s basketball team relied on a gritty, rough-and-tumble defensive performance to hold off App State, 65-54, Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.
The Monarchs were outrebounded, 46-35, and didn’t shoot particularly well, making 19 of 54 (35%). But they forced 18 turnovers, including 12 steals, and blocked five App State shots.
And they contested nearly every App State shot, and as a result, the Mountaineers made just 29% of their field goal attempts.
En’Dya Buford, who was honored during pre-game ceremonies for breaking the 1,000-point scoring mark earlier this month, led ODU with 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and a steady defensive performance in her 33 minutes of playing time.
“When you’ve got a three guard who can come in and be your leading rebounder and leading scorer, that says a lot about En’Dya,” said DeLisha Milton-Jones, ODU’s head coach.
“Her contributions sometimes go unnoticed.
“This was a must-win for us. App State is sneaky good. If you let them stay in the game, they can find ways to beat you.”
The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Monarchs (11-7 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference). App State (8-8, 1-5) fell into a 12th-place tie with Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt with its sixth loss in its last eight games.
Improving the defense has been a focus for the Monarchs, Milton-Jones said.
“Defensively, we haven’t been showcasing the essence of everything this team has been designed to do,” Milton-Jones said. “Everyone knows that in this program, we hang our hats on defense."
“We’ve geared up in practice and have prepared for a grimier type of game that we’re going to have to play. And our team was gutsy tonight. I thought we did a tremendous job of making them take shots under duress.
“If you leave them open, they will make you pay. I felt like we disrupted them tonight.”
ODU finished off what had been an abysmal first half with a flourish of points in the final two minutes that allowed the Monarchs to take a six-point lead into halftime.
Outrebounded and outshot by the Mountaineers, ODU led by a point, 22-21, when Laila Walker rebounded a miss of her own shot and made a layup to build the lead to three with 39 seconds left.
Following a missed three-point shot from App State’s Jayden McBride, Buford made a three-pointer and the Monarchs led, 27-21.
The lead was still six, 40-34, with 1:26 left in the third quarter when, again, ODU finished the quarter with a spurt that gave the Monarchs a 13-point lead.
Mariah Clayton made a free throw and missed the second, but it was rebounded by Simaru Fields, whose three-pointer made it 44-34 with 1:23 left.
ODU’s Nakiyah Allen picked off an App pass, was fouled and made one of two free throws to make it 45-34.
Alisha Nunley then picked off an App State pass and was fouled and made both free throws to give the Monarchs a commanding, 47-34 lead.
App State staged a too-little, too-late rally in the final minutes that trimmed to lead to six, 59-53, with 30 seconds left.
But Buford made two foul shots with 28.5 seconds left and the Mountaineers got no closer.
Simone Cunningham, ODU’s physical 5-foot-10 forward, was also in double figures with 11 points.
ODU next plays Saturday at home against Marshall in what in many respects is a key game for the Monarchs.
Marshall, which defeated ODU, 77-70, last week in Huntington, West Virginia, leads the Sun Belt with a 6-0 league mark.
The 2 p.m. game is also alumni night and the annual Anne Donovan game, which honors the late ODU All-American.
At halftime, ODU will retire the jersey of former All-American Adrienne Goodson, who as a freshman, helped the 1985 ODU team win its first NCAA national championship. More than 50 former ODU players are expected to attend and will also be honored at halftime, as will the family of Anne Donovan.
“There’s going to be great energy in the building,” Milton-Jones said. “We have a lot of our ODU’s women’s basketball family members migrating back home and it’s going to be fun.
“We’re going to be celebrating the legend, Anne Donovan herself, who did amazing things not just here at ODU, but also in the pros.
“She was an Olympian and my Olympic coach. We continue to honor her legacy.
“And we’re celebrating Adrienne Goodson, who won a coveted national championship trophy and who had a tremendous pro career. She deserves her flowers.”
For tickets to Saturday’s game, CLICK HERE.
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
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