CONWAY, S.C. - Mariah Clayton had a career-high 28-points and 10 rebounds to help fuel Old Dominion women’s basketball to a 73-60 road victory over Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at the HTC Center.
“We played our toughest as a team in the toughest of situations that we’ve had in a while on the road,” said ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones “Big time performances from Mariah Clayton and Jaylen Ponder, with 28 pts from Clayton and 15 rebounds from Ponder. Our production can come from anyone on any given night and those two showed up for us in a major way. Our defensive effort was impressive as well. Looking forward to getting back to work and continue to build on what we are putting on display.”
The Monarchs (17-12, 8-8 SBC) held a one-point advantage at the start of the fourth quarter. Clayton scored the first three baskets of the final stanza, converting a jumper in the paint, a second-chance layup, and another layup at the 8:08 mark to give ODU a 56-49 lead. Nevaeh Scott hit a pair of free throws and Kelsey Thompson scored a jumper in the paint before CCU (13-16, 6-10 SBC) scored its first points of the final quarter, 60-51.
The closest the Chanticleers would trim the deficit would be five points after a made three-pointer by Olivia Klanac and one made free throw from Tracey Hueston, 62-57. Clayton responded, scoring ODU’s next two baskets and re-establishing a nine-point advantage with 2:23 remaining. Baskets by Scott, Clayton, and Ponder rounded out the final two minutes as ODU cruised to the finish line.
Coastal opened the scoring in the first quarter when Klanac nailed a three-pointer at the 9:18 mark. She added 1-of-2 free throws before the Silver and Blue scored its first basket thanks to a Simaru Fields layup at 6:36. Ponder tied the game at four apiece with a layup 24 seconds later. CCU went into the first break in action with a five-point lead after scoring four-straight free throws, 17-12.
Hueston scored the first four points in the second quarter to expand the Chants lead to nine, their largest lead of the game. Clayton responded with a layup a minute later to cut into the deficit and Scott nailed a long ball with 7:19 remaining in the second, 21-17. The Monarchs trimmed it to three at the 5:31 mark with a pair of free throws by Clayton and then cut it to one after a made tip-in layup by Jaylen Ponder. ODU grabbed its first lead of the night on its next offensive possession thanks to another layup by Clayton, 26-25. The two programs traded the lead back and forth until ODU grabbed a five-point lead after another basket by Clayton in the paint, 32-27. CCU’s Paige Bradley scored the final basket of the first half for either team with 54 seconds remaining on a made jumper, 32-29.
Scott opened the second half with a made jumper, but Klanac hit a three-pointer on the next possession, 34-32. It took a minute before the next basket was scored, Fields made a layup at 8:19, Bradley answered with her own layup, but Fields responded with a pull-up jumper in the paint. CCU knotted the game at 40-40 with 5:15 in the third after a three-pointer by Kristin Williams. ODU responded with a 5-0 run which included a layup by Clayton and three-pointer by Fields at 4:55. CCU trimmed its deficit to one point by the end of the quarter after a made three by Tessa Grady with 33 seconds left, 50-49.
Clayton finished with a team-high 28-points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. Ponder grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and chipped in nine points. Fields tallied 11 points and Scott had 10. The Silver and Blue grabbed 60 rebounds to the Chants’ 39 for a +21-rebounding margin for the visitors. ODU scored 60 bench points and 48 points in the paint. CCU’s Hueston led the home team with 16 points followed by Williams’ 13. ODU shot 42.0% from the field and held the lead for 23:35 to CCU’s 15:02.
UP NEXT:
Old Dominion heads back on the road for the final two games of the regular season. The Monarchs face James Madison in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry on Wednesday, Feb. 25 before finishing the regular season at App State on Friday, Feb. 27.