Jan. 17, 2007
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RADIO: For the 16th-straight season ESPN Radio (1310 am - Norfolk, Va.) will be broadcasting all the Lady Monarch contests. Thirteen-time sportscaster of the Year Tony Mercurio will call all the action. Former Lady Monarch and ODU Hall of Fame inductee, Adrienne Goodson and former assistant coach Susan Montgomery will join Mercurio and add color commentary at all home games at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. A monthly fee of $6.95 through the College Pass program, which also provides the audio and video broadcasts of over 100 colleges and universities, will allow fans to listen to the broadcast online at www.odusports.com.
LIVESTATS: Log on to www.odusports.com and www.gomason.com for livestats of Thursday's game.
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Old Dominion women's basketball team moved above .500 for the first time this season and extended its winning streak to five games as the Lady Monarchs defeated Georgia State and Hofstra in home victories last week. The Lady Monarchs managed to showcase their depth as the ODU bench outscored its opponent bench 56-10 last week. The Lady Monarchs defeated Georgia State, 75-54 last Thursday evening to move to .500 on the season. Old Dominion held a 34-16 advantage marking the lowest scoring output by a Lady Monarch opponent this season. The 18-point ODU halftime lead also tied the Lady Monarchs largest halftime lead this year. Old Dominion also held an 18-point, 35-17 advantage over Chicago State in head coach Wendy Larry's 500th career victory over Chicago State back on December 9th. Additionally, the Lady Panthers tied its season low for scoring in a half with its 16 points. Three Lady Monarchs reached double digits in the victory led by senior Sherida Triggs with 16. Junior Shahida Williams poured in a season-high 15 while senior Tish Lyons added in 10 from off the bench. Sophomore Jazzmin Walters dished out eight assists and registered four steals, tying career highs in both categories. Old Dominion outrebounded Georgia State, 47-31. Although junior Tamara Ransburg also notched two points, she hauled in a game-high nine boards. On Sunday, the Lady Monarchs collected a 74-59 win over Hofstra to move above .500 with six Lady Monarchs reaching double figures. Junior Tay Ransburg collected her first double-double as a Lady Monarch as she was one of six Lady Monarchs in double figures in Sunday afternoon's 74-59 win over Hofstra at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Ransburg finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds. T.J. Jordan registered 15 points along with five assists. Redshirt sophomore Tiffany Green added in 11, while Williams and Triggs each netted 10. Old Dominion won the battle of the boards, 40-36, after being outrebounded in the first half, 23-15. The Lady Monarchs also shot a season-best 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field. From the line, Old Dominion overcame its 42.9 percent showing in the first half to hit 11-of-12 in the second half to connect for 91.7 percent. The Pride were the fifth team Old Dominion has faced this season receiving votes in the national polls.
ABOUT GEORGE MASON: The George Mason Patriot enter Thursday's game with a 7-8 overall and 1-4 CAA mark having dropped their last two games, home contests against James Madison and Georgia State. Their lone conference win came against Northeastern in early December. The Patriots are led by Lateisha Wade with 12.5 ppg, followed by junior Moni Akintunde with 10.9 ppg, and Tracy Ann Holness with 10.0 ppgs. Akintunde also leads the Patriot rebounding corps averaging 6.9 boards pre game.
SERIES WITH GEORGE MASON: The Patriots are one of five CAA teams that have yet to defeat the Lady Monarchs. Old Dominion owns a 39-0 record against George Mason. The Patriots have come close several times to putting a mark in the win column against the Lady Monarchs, most recently with an 85-81 loss in the CAA Tournament finale in 2004 at the Constant Center and a 68-63 overtime loss during the CAA Tournament semifinals at the ODU Fieldhouse in 2002. Last season, Old Dominion won both regular season meetings and defeated the Patriots in the CAA semifinals. In the second meeting during the regular season last year, the Lady Monarchs captured an 81-33 victory at the Patriot Center for ODU's largest margin of victory in the 2005-06 season.
LAST TIME VS. GEORGE MASON: The Old Dominion women's basketball opened its run for its 15th straight CAA title with a 66-50 victory over George Mason in the quarterfinals back on March 9, 2006.The Lady Monarchs, who were down by one at the half 27-28, outscored the Patriots, 39-22 in the second half. Former Lady Monarch Paula Muxiri helped provide the spark in the second half where she netted 12 of her game-high 18 points to lead all scorers. The game began much like the first meeting of the season with the Patriots, back on January 20th. That game saw George Mason enter the locker room at the half up, 35-34, but had Old Dominion rally in half-number two to earn the 71-55 win. Shahida Williams helped the Lady Monarchs establish as much as an eight point lead in the first half scoring, where she collected all 12 of her points. A Williams bucket with 8:25 left in the half gave Old Dominion a 22-14 advantage, but the Patriots would soon close the gap. A Keyhana Wakefield three sparked the Patriots late half run. Her three-pointer soon help Old Dominion's eight point lead turn into two. T.J. Jordan put the ball up and in at the basket with 4:33 left in the half, but that would be the final field goal of the game's first 20 minutes for the Lady Monarchs. Old Dominion's would go on to collect three more points all from the line. Lateisha Wade scored five points in less than a minute and the Patriots trailed only 24-22 with 4:19 left in the first half. The Lady Monarchs were clinging to the lead as the clocked ticked down but George Mason managed to get its one-point halftime edge as Nikkia Slade was fouled on a three with one second left. Jordan came right out of the locker room and quickly scored for the Lady Monarchs and for the rest of the night, Old Dominion would never relinquish the lead. A three-point by rookie reserve Jazzmin Walters gave the Lady Monarchs its largest lead of the night, an 18-point 64-46 lead with 1:39 on the clock
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - MASON
68.1 - Scoring - 68.3
.420 - Field Goal Percentage - .375
.311 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .304
.637 - Free Throw Percentage - .679
41.3 - Rebounds Per Game - 34.9
14.7 - Assists Per Game- 9.4
21.1 - Turnovers Per Game - 16.9
9.8 - Steals Per Game - 7.4
4.5 - Blocks Per Game - 2.5
ON THE GLASS: Although junior Tay Ransburg was held to only two points, both from the line, she hauled in a nine boards as Old Dominion outrebounded Georgia State, 47-31, last Thursday. She followed that performance with her first double-double as a Lady Monarch netting 13 points and grabbing a season-high 12 rebounds. She helped Old Dominion win the battle of the boards against the Pride, 40-36, after the Lady Monarchs were outrebounded in the first half, 23-15.
HOT HANDS: Old Dominion shot a season-high 52.9 percent (27-of-51) against Hofstra last Sunday, only the second time the Lady Monarchs have shot over 50 percent from the field this season.
OFF THE BENCH: Since beginning CAA action on January 4th, the Lady Monarch bench as been producing twice the amount as the opponent bench. Through four conference games, ODU's bench has collected 80 points as compared to their opponent's 36. Against Georgia Stat.e, ODU outscored the Lady Panther bench, 32-6, and outscored Hofstra's bench 24-4.
UP NEXT: The Lady Monarchs hit the road again traveling to Drexel on Sunday to close out the season series with the Dragons