The Monarchists

ODU Opens SBC Play with 62-56 Road Win Over South Alabama

Gary Williams

Old Dominion Women’s Basketball Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones notched her 100th career win as the Monarchs (9-2 / 1-0 SBC) opened conference play with a road victory over the Jaguars.

 

Offensively, ODU spread the wealth with 11 players registering in the scoring column. Jordan McLaughlin led the way with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Kaye Clark finished with 10 points and made her presence felt on the defensive end with eight steals. En’Dya Buford joined McLaughlin and Clark in double figures with 10 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. ODU had 14 players log minutes in this one.

Trailing 32-28 at halftime, the Monarchs were looking for a spark offensively and found it in the perimeter shooting of Brenda Fontana. Fontana knocked down back to back three balls to tie the game 34-34. Simone Cunningham knocked down a short range jumper to finish the run and put ODU ahead 36-34.

The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes before Old Dominion ended the quarter on an 11-3 run, capped by a fast break layup from Clark.

South Alabama would not go away easily in the fourth quarter though. The Jaguars cut the Monarch lead to 53-51 with just under four minutes to go.

Buford stepped up in the final minutes, knocking down two critical buckets while Clark and McLaughlin converted at the free throw line. The Monarchs’ tight defense and clutch shooting in the final minutes secured the SBC opener 62-56.

Jordan McLaughlin knocked down the final three free throws to seal the win. Photo Courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

ODU combined to shoot 37.9% (25-for-66) from the floor and 27.8% (5-for-18) from long range. The Monarchs also forced a season-high 28 turnovers and held a 37-36 edge on the boards. When ODU holds the rebounding advantage, they are 8-0 this season.

One trend to keep an eye on, the Monarchs have been outscored 57-28 in the second quarter over their last three games.

Next up for ODU, the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. They come to Norfolk on Thursday for a 6:30pm tip-off. The Cajuns are 4-6 on the season and lost their SBC opener at home to App State 69-56. Louisiana was picked to finish sixth in the SBC Preseason Poll.