Feb. 21, 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: Livestats of Thursday's game are available at www.odusports.com.
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Old Dominion women's basketball team has won five straight heading into Thursday night's competition with the George Mason Patriots. Last Thursday night senior Tish Lyons captured a season-high 19 points as she helped her team to its best shooting percentage in a game in nearly four years and its largest margin of victory this season in an 82-42 victory over Towson. The entire Old Dominion roster scored as Lyons was one of four in double figures. Old Dominion shot a blistering 60.4 percent (32-of-53), not only a season-high, but the Lady Monarchs' best shooting percentage since hitting 61.1 percent (33-of-54) against Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament back on March 13, 2003. The 40-point victory was also the largest for the Lady Monarchs this season, surpassing its previous high of 39 in a 77-38 win over Chicago State on December 9th. Sunday's game against William & Mary proved to be a thriller as the Lady Monarchs escaped Kaplan Arena with a 56-52 win. The Tribe were looking for their first win over the Lady Monarchs since 1976, but sophomore Tiffany Green would not allow it. She iced two free throws with 11 seconds left in the game to give the Lady Monarchs not only it first lead, but the lead for good, with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Green entered the game shooting just 48.4 percent from the charity stripe, but made both attempts for a 54-52 Old Dominion lead. She has now made her last nine free throws.
ABOUT GEORGE MASON: The Patriots come to the Ted Constant Convocation Center with an 8-17 overall and 2-13 CAA mark having dropped their last seven contests. George Mason's last win occurred on January 25th in a 68-53 win at the Patriot Center against Northeastern. Mason is led by junior Lateisha Wade, who is averaging 12.6 points per game. Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness is the other Patriot averaging double figures netting 10.8 points per game. Junior forward Moni Akintunde leads her squad in the rebounding department hauling in 6.7 boards per 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 40-0 record against George Mason, including the 69-49 victory at the Patriot Center earlier this season. 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 second largest margin of victory in the 2005-06 season.
LAST TIME VS. GEORGE MASON: Old Dominion women's basketball team cruised to i a 69-49 victory over the George Mason Patriots on January 18th at the Patriot Center as the Lady Monarchs extended its win streak over the Patriots to 40 consecutive contests. Junior guard T.J. Jordan scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the opening-half connecting on five three-pointers. Junior Tay Ransburg also hauled in six of her game-high eight boards in the opening stanza. In the second half, George Mason managed to outscore Old Dominion, by a point, 32-31, although the Lady Monarchs ended with a 20-point victory. Tiffany Green put a bucket in at the 10 minute mark to give Old Dominion its largest lead of the night, 52-26, however George Mason would outscore the Lady Monarchs 19-6 over the next five and a half minutes to close the gap to 13. The Patriots would get no closer the rest of the way. Jordan was one of three Lady Monarchs reaching double figures. Sherida Triggs poured in 14, with 10 of those points coming in the second half. Ransburg netted 10 and was just two boards shy of her second straight double-double. Also narrowly missing a double-double was Green who scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. The Patriots were held to 29.6 from the field. The game was also one of seven teams the Lady Monarchs held to under 50 points in a game this season.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST:
ODU - Mason
69.2 - Scoring - 57.2
.420 - Field Goal Percentage - 369
.318 - 3PT Field Goal Percentage - .304
.655 - Free Throw Percentage - .719
42.2 - Rebounds Per Game - 35.0
15.2 - Assists Per Game- 9.8
19.7 - Turnovers Per Game - 18.2
10.3 - Steals Per Game - 7.0
4.6 - Blocks Per Game - 2.1
FROM DOWNTOWN: Junior guard T.J. Jordan is third in the country in three-point field goals made with 3.2 per game and is 72nd in three-point field goal percentage at .356. She has 985 career points which puts on track to reach 1,000 points in about a game (or so). She has 80 three-point field goals this season and 220 for her career. Aubrey Eblin holds the school record in both categories with 97 treys made during the 1997-98 season and 250 made during her career.
WELCOME BACK: Although the 1997 national runner-up team will be formally recognized on Sunday as the Lady Monarchs take on James Madison, former Lady Monarch Clarisse Machanguana will be on hand Thursday and recognized at halftime of Thursday's George Mason game. With Machanguana on the floor, Old Dominion won 89 percent of its game (90-11) as she completed her career with 1,813 points. A Kodak All-American and Naismith Player of the Year finalist in 1997, she helped lead Old Dominion to a 34-2 record and its third Final Four appearance. During her career she also earned All-America honors by the Sporting News, Basketball Times, and Associated Press and was a three-time All-CAA First Team selection, two-time CAA Tournament MVP, and the 1995 CAA Player of the Year. Since completing her career, Machanguana has played for San Jose in the ABL, followed by stints with Los Angeles, Charlotte, and Orlando in the WNBA. She along with her husband, Alejandro, and son, Luka are visiting Old Dominion from Italy, where she is continuing her professional playering career in Rome.
UP NEXT:The Lady Monarchs have their final regular home game taking on No. 22/25 James Madison on Sunday, February 25th at noon. The Lady Monarchs will be looking to avenge its lone CAA loss this season. At halftime, several members of the 1997 Final Four Team will be on hand to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their magical run to the championship game. Following the game, seniors Tish Lyons, Sherida Triggs, and Shantel Wilson will be honored.