March 2, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Game 28
SENIOR NIGHT
Wednesday, March 3rd - 7:00 p.m.
Old Dominion University Lady Monarchs (16-11, 14-3 CAA) vs.
Towson University Tigers (14-14, 8-9 CAA)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,600) - Norfolk, Va.
TV: None
Radio: ESPN Radio 94.1 FM
Live Stats: GameTracker
Online Audio: Monarch TV
Online Video: Monarch TV
NORFOLK, Va. -- This Wednesday night, the 2010 CAA regular season champion Lady Monarchs (16-11, 14-3) will close out the regular season with a bang, hosting Towson at 7:00 p.m. and welcoming back some of the greatest all-time ODU players as well as sending off a pair of current players.
In a special pre-game ceremony, the Lady Monarchs and head coach Wendy Larry will welcome back nine of the eleven ODU alumni named to the CAA 25th Anniversary Women's Basketball team. The nine players are some of the all-time greats in ODU and CAA history, and some will be returning for the first time since they played.
It will also be the Senior Night for Vicki Collier (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) as they cap their fine careers with their final regular season home game. Senior Night will be observed immediately following the game against Towson.
The game will tip at 7:00 p.m. as the Lady Monarchs look to finish off the regular season on a strong note against the Tigers. Towson is looking to get back to .500 in the CAA season and boasts one of the league's premier scorers in Shanae Baker-Brice. Baker-Brice, a pre-season All-CAA guard, is putting up 17.9 points per game ranking fifth in the league.
Today's Game
All-Time Series - Old Dominion owns a perfect 14-0 record against the Towson Tigers, dating back to the 2001-02 season. The Tigers remain one of just three teams in the league yet to earn a victory against the Lady Monarchs, with Georgia State (8-0) and UNC Wilmington (41-0).
About the Tigers - Towson is locked in as the number seven seed in the upcoming 2010 CAA Tournament and will play either UNC Wilmington or Georgia State in the opening round. The Tigers are 14-14 overall this season with an 8-9 mark in the CAA.
Towson has been led by the league's fifth leading scorer, Shanae Baker-Brice, averaging nearly 18 points per game this season. She had 18 against the Lady Monarchs earlier this season, adding six assists and three steals.
Haliena Snowden is also a significant weapoon for the Tigers, averaging double figures in conference games this season. The senior forward finished with 16 points and five rebounds against ODU earlier this season. Snowden is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in CAA action.
Towson has started 12 different players this season with Baker-Brice, Snowden and Kandace Davis being the only players with more than 14 total starts. Davis joins Katrina Wheeler as the big rebounders on the team, as Wheeler hauls in nearly nine per game, ranking her third in the CAA.
ODU Clinches Regular Season Title
Old Dominion has won another CAA regular season title and has guaranteed the top seed in the upcoming 2010 CAA Tournament. ODU has been in first place for much of the season, and they have locked up the #1 seed for the 15th time since joining the league in 1992. The CAA Tournament this year is being held at the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va. and will begin on March 11 through March 14.
All-Around Parker
Jasmine Parker is having a terrific all-around season for the Lady Monarchs in her third year. She is second on the team in scoring and is leading the team in points per game for conference games only. But more than the scoring, Parker has been a top notch defender and great facilitator for her teammates this season. The Norfolk native has etched career-highs in assists (100) and steals (67) this year and is among the league leaders in both categories. She also has set a new career-high in rebounds, with 84 total boards this season. Offensively, she is ODU's top deep threat, hitting 42 three's this season and also one of the team's top weapons from the free-throw line, shooting over 79% from the charity stripe.
Whew! That Was Close
ODU is excelling in tight ball games this season, going 10-3 in the 13 games decided by single digits this season. ODU had won seven straight close games until their 6-point loss to JMU, and have now won another against VCU. Four of those seven straight came on the road (JMU, Towson, UNCW and GSU) and ODU also defeated Georgia State, Hofstra and Delaware at home by single digits. Old Dominion's closest game this season was a 1-point win at Delaware, powered to victory by Jasmine Parker taking a charge and knocking down a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game. They were also forced to win on a last second shot at Georgia State, when Tia Lewis converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 0.6 seconds remaining for the two-point win.
Games Decided by 3 pts or less: 4-0
Games Decided by 5 pts or less: 6-0
Games Decided by 9 pts or less: 10-3
Senior Moments
ODU has just one senior this season, First Team Preseason All-CAA forward Jessica Canady. Canady has worked her way back from offseason surgery and has now started 18 straight games after being forced to sit through half of the non-conference schedule. She broke out in a big way against Northeastern, scoring 18 points and hauling in a team-high 12 rebounds while playing a career-high 36 minutes. Last game, the Lady Monarch senior became the 27th Lady Monarch in history to score 1,000-points and is now also over 650 career rebounds. Canady was a reserve player her freshman year, scoring only 92 points, making her 1,001 career all the more impressive, averaging 11.1 points per game since her sophomore season.