NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion women’s basketball defeated Christopher Newport, 90-54 at Chartway Arena in the Monarchs’ final exhibition game.
“First, we want to thank Christopher Newport for driving down and allowing us to be able to have this game,” said ODU Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. “It is always good for both teams to have a trial run, a soft launch, on the season starting. They are always great competition to go up against. I can see why they are almost annually in the Final Four of the D3 Championships, it is a tremendous program. We tip our hat off to them for being who they are.”
“For my squad, I’m pleased with a lot of things. I think the scrimmages and the exhibition game is doing what it is supposed to do. It is allowing us to really settle in on what our identity will be as a program. It has given us ample opportunity to have different lineups on the floor and for players to be able to find their footing.”
“For many of them, it is their first time on the D-1 level. Playing here at ODU, knowing the expectation that the fans have, they have a high standard of excellence that they want to see. They want to see defense, they want to see the ball going through the rim. To know that many of them were walking up to me saying that they were very impressed and it was very exciting for them. That made me feel good but I as the coach know we still have some more work to do.”
ODU got off and rolling with a 7-1 run in the first four minutes of action. Shadasia Brackens made a pair of free throws, Trinity Vance nailed a long ball, and Ar’Jayla Elder scored a fast break layup while CNU’s Madison Mckenzie hit one free throw. CNU was able cut into ODU’s lead and made it a five-point game with 34 seconds left after Mckenzie drilled a three. The first quarter ended with the Monarchs in the lead, 17-12.
Brackens scored an and-one to kick off the second quarter and made her free throw to go up, 20-12. She scored another layup at the 6:12 mark to put the Monarchs ahead by 12, 28-16. CNU’s Hazel Grepps made her own layup six seconds later to trim their deficit to 10. The Monarchs were able to expand their lead to 15 after Jamaya Thomas made a second-chance layup with one second remaining as ODU went into the break up, 40-25.
Dalanna Carter opened the third quarter with a fastbreak layup after the fourth year guard from Beach City, Texas swiped the ball away from CNU’s Mia Wilson for the steal, 42-25. The Silver and Blue went up by 21 points by the 4:44 mark after Riley Stack scored a layup in the paint to go up 53-32.
Mia Davis went down the court 21 seconds later and drilled a second-chance jumper that was created by her own offensive rebound. Elder then swiped the ball from the Captains as they tried to pass halfcourt and her deflection fell to Talyah Harris for the easy two points to go up 57-32. The final basket of the quarter came from Landin Kelley with 42 seconds until the buzzer. She made a mid-range jumper to give ODU a 67-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
CNU opened the fourth with a made three pointer from Elizabeth Creed that was assisted by Atiana Williams. But, what followed was a 7-0 run from the Monarchs. Brackens made a layup, Vance netted a three, and then made a fastbreak layup to go up, 74-42. CNU’s Mckenzie then went perfect at the line to respond.
The Monarchs scored their final points of the night from Monica Bottley. She went 2-for-4 at the line with one made free throw at the 53 second mark and another at the 19 second mark as ODU came out victorious in its final exhibition game, 90-54.
ODU had three Monarchs score in double-figures. Brackens and Vance both tied for the team high with 16 points. Brackens went 4-for-5 at the line and was 6-9 from the field with seven rebounds. Vance shot 4–for-4 from behind the arc and grabbed four rebounds while shooting 6-for-8 from the field. Mia Davis notched 13 points, she went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe and shot 4–for-10 on the night.
ODU had 13 out of 14 players score tonight, ODU had 46 points in the paint and 43 from the bench, and were able to turn the Captains’ turnovers into 31 points. ODU went 20-for-29 on layups and scored 22 fast break points. ODU outrebounded CNU, 54-33 and held the Captains to 28.8% shooting from the field. The Silver and Blue shot 47.8% from the field.
UP NEXT:
ODU opens the regular season on Monday, November 2, 2026. The Monarchs head to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to face Central Michigan at 11 a.m. at McGuirk Arena for the first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge.