Feb. 1, 2006
Old Dominion vs. Drexel/Northeastern Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game: Friday: Old Dominion vs. Drexel - Ted Constant Convocation Center - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: Old Dominion vs. Northeastern - Ted Constant Convocation Center - 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats: Live stats are available only for Sunday's game at Towson at www.towsontigers.com.
Radio: ESPN Radio - 1310 AM - Join 13-time Sportscaster of the Year as Tony Mercurio calls all the action live. He will be joined by ODU Hall of Famer and former Lady Monarch Jan Trombly on color during all home games.
Internet: Live audio of the ESPN 1310 broadcast and video steam of all home games are available via the Monarch All-Access pass at www.odusports.com.
About Old Dominion: The Old Dominion women's basketball team's win streak is up to eight as they thwarted second half come backs by both Hofstra and Towson last weekend. Old Dominion will play four of its next five games at home at the Ted Constant Convocation Center beginning with Drexel Friday night to close out the season series. They meet Northeastern on Sunday in the lone match-up with the Huskies this season.
Recapping Last Weekend: Last Friday, the Lady Monarchs solidified its first place standing with a 70-65 victory over second place Hofstra at Hofstra Arena. The Lady Monarchs held a 34-23 halftime lead and held Hofstra without a field goal over the final 4:32 of the half. The Pride overcame their 11-point halftime deficit to close to within two with 1:02 remaining. With time winding down, sophomore leading scorer T.J. Jordan hit a monster three from well beyond NBA range with only two seconds left on the shot clock and 31 seconds left in the game to seal the victory. Junior Tish Lyons scored all 15 of her points in the first half going 7-of-8 from the field and a free throw. Joining Lyons with double figures was Triggs with 12 and Jordan and junior Paula Muxiri each with 11. Sophomore Shahida Williams hauled in 10 boards to tie her career mark. Last Sunday, Towson was held winless against the Lady Monarchs for the ninth straight time with a 69-56 Old Dominion victory. The Lady Monarchs' nine point half-time edge was whittled to four, 48-44, with 6:42 to play. However, Old Dominion used a quick 11-0 run from which Towson could not recover and went on to outscore the Tigers 21-12 over the final 5:40 of the game. The Tigers have been the only CAA team to outrebound the Lady Monarchs this season holding a slight 32-31 advantage on the boards. Old Dominion did manage one of their best shooting performances from the floor this season. The Lady Monarchs connected on 26-of-49 to end the afternoon shooting 53.1 percent. Triggs and senior Lawona Davis each tallied a team-high 15 points.
About Drexel: The Dragons enter the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Friday with a 9-9 overall record and eighth in the CAA race with a 4-5 mark. After dropping a 63-53 game to the Lady Monarchs back on January 15th, the Dragons fell to Delaware in their next outing by a mere two points, 55-57, for their fourth straight loss. Since the setback to the Blue Hens, Drexel has rattled off four straight victories to enter Friday's contest. CAA Preseason Player of the Year, Catherine Scanlon, who dropped in a game-high 19 points in the last meeting, continues to lead her squad with 15.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Three-point specialist and 2005 CAA All-Rookie Team member Narissa Suber is the other Dragon in double figures averaging 13.8 per game.
The Series With Drexel: Old Dominion holds a 9-1 record against Drexel as these two teams became annual rivals when the Dragons enter the CAA conference for the 2001-02 season. The Lady Monarchs' last victory came back on January 15th with a 63-53 win in Philadelphia. The Dragons' lone victory came up the Daskalakis Center in the 2005 regular season finale with Drexel holding on to a 71-68 victory. However, in the rematch, Old Dominion edged out Drexel, 64-63, in the CAA Tournament semifinals en-route to the Lady Monarchs' 14th straight CAA title. The Lady Monarchs hold a 4-0 record against the Dragons at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Last Time Vs. Drexel: The Old Dominion women's basketball team picked up its fourth straight holding off the Drexel Dragons, 63-53, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center back on January 15th. The Lady Monarchs shot a season-high 55 percent from the field connecting on 22-of-40. Senior Lawona Davis came off the bench to pour in a team-high 18 points and also went a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. Sophomore T.J. Jordan added 16, including going 4-of-4 from downtown in the game's first five minutes. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Catherine Scanlon led Drexel and all scorers with 19 points and seven rebounds. Narissa Suber had 14, but only went 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Suber's three's were the thorn in ODU's side in last year's loss at the Daskalakis Center. Old Dominion held the lead the entire game and posted a 34-25 lead at intermission holding off a late Drexel surge in the first half. The game opened with the Lady Monarchs taking a 16-5 lead. Moments later fueled by a barrage of three-point shooting from Jordan and junior Tish Lyons, Old Dominion saw it lead extend to 14 with a 19-5 edge with 14:39 left in the half. Late in the second half though, the Dragons made a run and cut ODU's 14 point lead down to three. After junior Sherida Triggs collected a bucket to bring the score to 25-14 with 6:36 on the clock, Drexel took an 8-0 run to get back into the game. Over the final 2:39 though, the Lady Monarchs outscored Drexel 9-2 for the halftime score. In the second half, the Lady Monarchs responded by quickly establishing a double digit lead. Once again the Dragons did not go quitely and helped an 11-point Lady Monarch lead with 8:04 left in the game, disappear to only a four point edge with 2:42 remaining. Leading 57-53, the Old Dominion defense held Drexel scoreless over the game's final 1:37 while going on to score six for the game's final margin.
About Northeastern: The Lady Monarchs and Huskies match-up for the first time ever as Colonial Athletic Association rivals. It will be the lone regular season meeting between the two teams this season. Prior to coming to Norfolk on Sunday afternoon, Northeastern will travel to George Mason in Fairfax on Friday. Entering the weekend, the Huskies stand at 7-11 overall and 3-6 in the CAA. Northeastern is led by sophomore guard Shaleyse Smallwood who is averaging 14.5 points. CAA Co-Player of the Week and Preseason Second Team All-CAA teamer Marlane Zwarich is averaging 12.6 points and a team second best 6.8 rebounds per game. The senior guard currently has 1,389 points in her career, ranking fifth on the Huskies' all-time career scoring list. Senior forward Quiana Copeland checks in as the team's third leading scorer with 11.9 points per outing.
The Series With Northeastern: Old Dominion holds a 1-0 series lead over the Huskies. The two teams faced each other in non-conference competition back on December 4th, 1985 at the ODU Fieldhouse with the Lady Monarchs winning 72-58.
Last Time Vs. Northeastern: Old Dominion and Northeastern have met only one time before and that was back on December 4th, 1985, the season after the Lady Monarchs captured the NCAA title. Old Dominion posted a 72-58 victory over the Huskies at the ODU Fieldhouse with Donna Harrington leading the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Former assistant coach and current WNBA Charlotte Sting member Adrienne Goodson had 13 and Kim McQuarter chipped in 12. The Huskies were led by Joanne Healy with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
NCAA RPI Released: Old Dominion leads the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in RPI, followed by four other schools in the top 100. Delaware sit at No. 47, followed by James Madison at No. 66, Hofstra at No. 84, and Virginia Commonwealth at No. 94. The Lady Monarchs, who are playing on of their most difficult schedules in history featuring five ranked opponents in the recent polls, including four in the nation's top ten, have three schools on their schedule that are making an appearance in the RPI's top 10. Tennessee tops the RPI report followed by North Carolina at No. 3, and Duke at No. 5. Rutgers, another top 10 team, appears at No. 13.
Home Sweet Home: Old Dominion will be home in four of their next five games and six of their next eight. Including Friday night's Drexel game, the Lady Monarchs will have six more home games left in on the 2005-06 schedule and only four more road trips ahead of them.
Another Big Week For Triggs: Last week's CAA Player of the Week, Sherida Triggs, averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and shot 70.6 percent from the floor in Old Dominion's victories over Hofstra and Towson. Against the Pride, the junior forward poured in 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocks. She shot 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from the line. Last Sunday, Triggs was Old Dominion's top scorer with 15 points and once again went perfect from the free throw line. She managed to shoot 7-of-10 from the field and tied her career mark with four blocks. To date, the Norcross, Georgia native is averaging a team second best 11.6 points per game, a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game, and is shooting a team best 59.3 percent from the floor.
She Shoots, She Scores: Sophomore T.J. Jordan had a huge hand in helping Old Dominion to a 70-65 victory over Hofstra last Friday night. With time winding down, ODU's leading scorer hit a monster three from well beyond NBA range with only two seconds left on the shot clock and 31 seconds left in the game to seal the victory. In this week's NCAA stats, Jordan is tied for eighth in the country in three-point field goals made averaging 3.1 per game.
Player Card Give-Away: The third set of Chic-Fil-A player cards will be given away at Friday's game versus Drexel.
Girls And Women In Sport Day: Old Dominion University and the Lady Monarchs will join thousands of sports educators, coaches, athletes, and parents across the nation in celebration of the 20th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, Friday, February 3 at 5:30 p.m. In connection with the Lady Monarch's game v. CAA conference rival Drexel University, Old Dominion University will hold a girls in sports symposium to educate females on the importance of physical activity, proper health and nutrition, and the benefits of participation in sports. The event will be geared toward middle and high school students, however anyone interested in attending will be welcome. Special guest speakers at the symposium include: emcee Jan Trombly, former ODU Lady Monarch team captain and 1984 Team USA Handball member; certified trainer/EMT, Terri Zablocki; ODU Field Hockey coach and Olympic field hockey medalist, Beth Anders; and World Champion racquetball player Malia Bailey. Joining these outstanding sportswomen for a question and answer session will be a panel of female ODU athletes. Admission to the symposium is free with the purchase of a ticket to the ODU v. Drexel game at 7:00p.m. To register for the event and purchase discount game tickets, contact Heather Vieira at 757-683-5000 or David Weisser at 757-683-5444.
CAA Tournament Tickets Available: Tickets for both the men's and women's CAA tournaments are available to order now from the ODU Athletic Ticket office. Call 683-5484 for more information. Despite some confusion on the reservation contact, the fan room block for the CAA women's tournament at the Fairfax Marriott is still available for all fans. Please contact Chris Clement, Sports Account Executive, Marriott Hotels of Northern Virginia Fax: 1-866-538-9051, E-mail: chris.clement@marriott.com.