Simaru Fields Scores Career-High 29 Points As ODU Women's Basketball Wins Third in a Row

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – Simaru Fields made a fallaway three-point shot with 46.2 seconds left that gave the Old Dominion women’s basketball team the lead for good, and the Monarchs held on to defeat Georgia State, 73-68, Saturday afternoon at Chartway Arena.

Fields, a senior from Gulfport, Mississippi, scored a career-high 29 points on an afternoon in which she contributed far more than just scoring. She added seven rebounds and six assists.

Fields made 10 of 17 shots, including a career high seven makes on 12 three-pointer attempts for the Monarchs, who appear to be catching their stride at just the right time.

ODU (10-5 overall, 2-1 Sun Belt) has won three in a row and five of its last seven, three games into its Sun Belt schedule. 

En’Dya Buford, the graduate student from Memphis, added 16 points on a night when she surpassed the 1,000-point career mark.

Her most important points came with 2:10 left when she picked off a Georgia State pass and made an uncontested layup to tie the score at 65-all.

Cheyenne Holloman made a layup to give Georgia State its last lead, 67-65. Riley Stack made a layup with 1:30 left to tie it up and set up Fields’ clutch three-pointer.

ODU was coming off a double overtime victory over Georgia Southern on New Year’s Day,

“That was another gusty win for us,” said ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones.

“I love the fact that we had two close games and were able to win one in regulation and the other in double overtime.”

Milton-Jones called a timeout with 54 seconds left with the scored tied at 67. She instructed Buford to get the ball to either Stack, ODU’s 6-foot-4 center, in the post or to Fields in the wing. She fed Fields, who made the open jumper.

“I thought we ran the play to perfection,” Milton-Jones said.

ODU defeated Georgia State (6-10, 1-3) with its depth as the Monarch bench outscored the Panthers’ beach, 39-16.

The Monarchs outrebounded the Panthers, 36-27, but had 20 turnovers to 13 for Georgia State.

ODU shot well in the first half, but fell behind by seven midway through the second quarter, largely because the Monarchs couldn’t hold onto the ball. ODU had 10 turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

Georgia State’s Holloman made a layup following the 10th turnover to give the Panthers the 7-point lead with 4:51 left.

But the Monarchs shut Georgia State out the rest of the half, and got baskets from Simone Cunningham and Buford and then a three-pointer from Dalanna Carter to tie the score at 31-all at halftime.

Buford tallied a three-point play to put ODU up 51-48 with 2:04 left in the third quarter – the basket gave her 1,000 career points.

Fields drilled a three-pointer with 8:04 left that gave the Monarchs a 58-51 lead, but it was to be short lived, as the Panthers scored seven unanswered points, the last on free throws from Morgan Robinson-Nwageu with 6:55 to go, to tie the score and set up a frenetic finish.

“Simaru was due for a breakout game like that,” Milton-Jones said. “And I love the fact that no matter how many she makes or misses, her confidence is always the same.

“She gets us out of a lot of tough situations.”

The Monarchs hit the road next week, playing at Marshall on Wednesday, Jan. 7, and then at Georgia Southern on Saturday, Jan. 10. ODU then hosts App State on Wednesday, Jan. 14 and then Marshall on Saturday, Jan.17.

The home game against Marshall is alumni night as well as the annual Anne Donovan Classic, honoring the late ODU All-American.

ODU will also retire the jersey of former ODU star Adrienne Goodson on Jan. 17.  Goodson was a two-time All-American who helped lead ODU to the 1985 national championship as a freshman and to three Sun Belt Conference titles.